


Beautiful Iris

by jo19844_twfic



Category: Torchwood
Genre: F/M, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Time Travel, Weevils (Torchwood)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-08 03:55:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 69,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4289895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jo19844_twfic/pseuds/jo19844_twfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a seemingly cut-and-dried incident calls out Torchwood early one morning all is not as it originally seems. Alien technology leads the team into a trap of danger and curiosity, propelling them to an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces. Split into two, the team must find a way back before past events puts one member of Torchwood into danger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cut and Dried

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A seemingly cut and dried incident takes Torchwood onto the streets of Cardiff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spolers - season 1 up to episode 7

Heavy rain pelted the windscreen of the SUV as it raced down the deserted Cardiff street. Owen grabbed onto the seat in the back and gritted his teeth; Ianto was exceeding the speed limit again, almost eighty miles per hour this time and loving every minute. The large vehicle skidded around a tight corner and sent Toshiko flying across Owen’s lap, her hair falling in front of her face and, as she looked up to her skinny colleague through her fringe, he held back a smirk.

“Watch where you’re putting your hands Sato,” he said, pushing her back upright. “I’m not a groping toy.”

“Owen, if I could have avoided having any kind of personal contact with you I would’ve” Toshiko fixed her hair and managed to stay upright as the SUV skidded around another narrow bend. “Believe it or not, not every woman in the world falls to your feet.” 

"Who said anything about feet?"

She looked at the reading on her hand-held computer and gazed out of the window, trying to see past the beads of rain that tumbled down the glass. "Ianto, take your next left and then your second right." 

The Captain clung to the dashboard with a grin like a Cheshire cat and glanced over his shoulder. The rush of adrenaline and the thrill of the hunt filled his eyes, almost glazing them over. “I love a good chase!" 

The SUV skidded around another corner and this time Owen fell into Toshiko’s chest face down; she opened her mouth to speak just as Owen lifted himself upright. “One word!” he warned.

“I wasn’t going to say a thing.”

Gwen looked at her mobile and stared at the text message on the screen as she flew from left to right, almost dropping the phone twice, as Ianto manoeuvred the vehicle. It was another message from Rhys, another worried message asking if she was coming home. She dropped her phone when Ianto finally sent the SUV into a hairpin turn, resulting in a perfectly parallel parking position beside the curb. Reaching for her phone, she quickly text Rhys back. She hated the lies, they were necessary lies, but a lie was still a lie.

“Nice work Ianto,” Jack said, releasing himself from the confines of the seat belt. “Couldn’t have done it better myself.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You really know how to set my heart racing.”

"Good to know." There was a glint in his eye, an inner satisfaction that nobody but Jack ever noticed.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Tosh said, putting her hand against her forehead.

“It’ll be fine when the world stops spinning,” Owen added, leaning against the backrest. “Ianto, you need driving lessons, mate.”

The Welshman hopped out of the SUV and closed the door, then walked around to the rear door and opened it, popping his head inside. “What's wrong with it?”

“One day you're going to kill us.”

“You're alive now aren't you?”

“Obviously.”

“Then stop complaining.”

“Are you going to sit in the car all morning or are you going to get to work?” Jack asked, jumping out the SUV and slamming the door.

The two corpses lay in the alleyway, lying almost on top of each other; the blood was being washed away by the torrential rain that hammered the pavement, running in a stream down the pathway and disappearing down into the drain. Owen crouched down beside the bodies and put on his gloves.

“Cause of death?” Jack asked, putting his hands on his hips as he looked down at him.

“Weevil, or at least that would be my guess, I really couldn’t say without a post mortem.”

“Cut-and-dried then?” he asked.

“More or less.”

“Okay then what’s say we pack these babies up and head back then?”

“There’s nothing else we can do here.”

“Ianto!” Jack called, pointing to the corpses at his feet. “Two more for the wagon!”

Toshiko walked over to the corpses with her hand-held device and scanned them carefully, glaring at her screen and wiping the rain from it; it was just lucky they were waterproof. The water dripped off her eyelashes in large beads, almost blinding her view. “Everything seems fine. Low level radiation, but nothing out of the ordinary for us. I’d say this was a bog-standard case; boring but quick,” she said standing up and putting her away her equipment. She wiped the rain away from her face again. “But, where’s the Weevil?”

“No reports of it," Ianto said. "Maybe I'll get an early night for once."

"That's no fun." Jack pouted. "Who wants to sleep when there are weevils to hunt?"

"Me." 

"Well, these bodies have been here at least four hours by the looks of it, so I think it's safe to say that all the Weevils are tucked up underneath the city again." Owen said, helping Ianto drag one of the bodies up by their arms. 

"I'll get these back to the hub then." Ianto hoisted the corpse onto his shoulder, with the help of Owen, then groaned when blood splattered onto his face. “I love field work.”

“Glamorous isn’t it?” Tosh joked.

“Champagne and strawberries have nothing on Weevil shit and blood splatters.”

“Come on le'ts get these loaded. I need a coffee.”

“Is that it?" Gwen asked, looking around at the team. Ianto paused and turned around, rolling his eyes at the Gwen-morality speech he could tell was coming. "Two people; dead, and that’s all you say? We take two minutes to look at them without even thinking of who they are, where they come from or who might be missing them and then just pack up and leave, just like that?"

“We’re not the police Gwen,” Jack said. "Identifying and informing just isn’t our bag. We just show up and do what needs be. I genuinely thought you would have got the hang of it by now."

"But what about respect?" She asked the question, but nobody answered; nobody ever answered.

Toshiko turned away and walked down the alley towards the SUV with Jack who was now carrying the second corpse over his shoulders. Ianto started to move again; the body was getting heavy. The only person beside her was Owen, who was fastening up his examination bag. "What about respect for the dead, Owen? You're a doctor for God's sake, it must mean something to you"

"Gwen,“ Owen said, hurling the bag over his shoulder, almost drowning in the rain. “It’s one o’clock in the morning, and I've yet to have my coffee so try talking to me about respect at a tolerable hour."

“Where’s your humanity?” She shouted down the street after them. “What happened to your compassion, or didn’t you have any to start with? Is that a requirement for Torchwood?”

Jack took a deep breath and deposited the corpse in the SUV with a thud before taking his time to walk back to Gwen who stood in the street, soaked with rain. Her hands stayed firmly docked to her hips, with one foot slightly forward and a scowl on her face. Her mouth was open, and her eyes half closed as she tried to see through the rain at the figure walking towards her.

“If I spent all my time grieving for the people that we scrape off the pavement, or searching for long lost relatives to break the news to I would never do anything else. You have to separate yourself; you know this.”

“Separate myself from my humanity?” She scoffed. “No thanks, Jack.”

“I hired you for your dose of humanity,” he reminded her. "But you have to remember that we’re not here to feel sorry for them, or to feel sad for them. We’re here to do our job and protect the rest of them so that they don‘t meet the same fate.”

“But these people, all these dead people, am I really supposed to pretend I don’t care?”

“You can’t do anything for these people now, they’re gone Gwen.”

“I can’t just separate myself the way that you do, I have feelings Jack, I’m not an immortal monster like you; I’m not heartless,” she spat and watched Jack as he lost his usually calm composure.

“You think I’m a monster?" Jack asked. "You think that I’m a heartless monster because I don’t react the way you do?”

“That’s exactly why Jack. You have no human emotion left.”

“Then maybe I am a monster, but sometimes a monster is the only thing there to stop the others from getting through! So if you don’t like it, if you can’t get used to the way that we operate, then you know what you can do. You know where the door is!”

“Right through a large dose of Retcon I would imagine.” She stepped closer to him.

“You would imagine right.”

“That seems to be your answer for everything. If anyone even comes so close as to finding out about your little club or what you do, you slip them a dose of Retcon and they wake up none the wiser.”

“You know how Torchwood is and how important it is that we stay under the radar. Our business is a need to know business.” He turned away and started to walk down the street. “Now collect your things and get in the SUV. Go back to the hub and do your job without the side-order of emotional blackmail if at all possible.”

“Jack!” Ianto’s voice commanded from the SUV. “I think you had better come and see this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments much appreciated.


	2. Solid Old Buildings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a strange device is found on a Weevil attack victim, the team follow a strange signal into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers. season 1 up to episode 7.

“What do you think it is?” Ianto asked, knitting his eyebrows together in concentration as he looked over Jack’s shoulder at the object.

“I don’t know.“

Jack held the small spherical object in the palm of his hand and inspected it closely. It was matt black in colour and cold to the touch, with deep ridges and purple lights that flickered on and off in what seemed to be a completely random fashion. It was beautiful and delicate, with a strange scent that seemed to have a lavender aroma and when the lights flashed, it illuminated his face with a violet glow.

 

“Any ideas, Tosh?" He asked, holding it out to her.

 

“Not really.” She sighed, and took it from him to inspect. She turned it over and, camouflaged well within the structure, she spied a small flat button carved delicately into the device. Warily, she pressed it and waited; all the purple lights went out and several green lights flashed in sync with a high pitched beep that quickened slightly when she turned around to face the other direction. The aroma changed too, and the beautiful lavender and honey scent vanished without a trace, almost as though it had never been there at all. “The smell,” she said, confused as she sniffed the air. “It's gone.”

“Sensory disguise system,” Jack smiled. "Oh that's old school! I haven't seen that in years.”

“So, it disguises itself with a scent to try and make it look like something attractive, when really it's something else?” Gwen asked, then smiled. “Like Owen's aftershave on a Saturday night then?”

“That's uncalled for.” Owen said. “I wear quality aftershave, and I'll have you know that a certain kind of woman finds me very attractive.”

“Yeah.” Ianto agreed, without the tiniest hint of an audible chuckle, or a smile. "The desperate kind.”

“What is this, pick on Owen day?”

 

“I've got it!” Tosh exclaimed. “It’s a tracking device.” She smiled with amazement, her eyes wide with wonder. “For some reason it's camouflaged, maybe a kind of safety mechanism, or a diversion, but it's definitely a tracker, it's tracking something right now.”

“Tracking what?”

“No idea,” Tosh sighed audibly again, continuing to walk past Jack; the beeps continued to get faster and louder. “Weevils, or some other life form? Of course it might be something completely different; other technology, radiation. There's a list of infinite possibilities to consider.”

“Alternatively,“ Owen interrupted, “it could just be a useless do-hickey.”

“I doubt it, when was the last time that someone was murdered for a useless do-hickey?” she asked.

“Murdered? Who said it was murder?” He looked around pointedly. “I’m pretty sure it was just a standard Weevil attack.”

“I’m with Tosh on this one,” Ianto said as he pulled a chain off the other corpse and looked at the device. It was identical to the one he had found earlier, complete with the purple flashing lights and beautiful scent. “It seems a little bit odd that two people would get attacked by a Weevil on the same night that they just happened to be carrying these things. Doesn't it?”

“I don’t believe in coincidence.” Jack looked thoughtful and took both devices, activating the second the way that Tosh had the first. “They have the same signal, that's enough for me to be suspicious.”

“Let me see them again?” Ianto asked. "They look familiar.”

“In the archive?” he asked.

“No, I don't think so. They just look familiar."

 

"Familiar how?"

 

"I dunno, maybe from Torchwood one?"

 

“What do we think it is then?” Gwen asked.

“I'm with Tosh.” He looked around at the hopeful eager eyes. “Maybe they track each other, all the devices track each other until they can be synchronised; these two are already synchronised, so maybe they're looking for a third?"

“Ianto; I love you!” Jack enthused. “You really are more that a pretty face and a nice pert ass.”

“I do my best.”

“Now, I say we follow this signal and see just where those two were heading,” Jack said, looking expectantly at Ianto. “Lead the way Ianto.”

“Great, I do love a wild Goose chase at one o'clock in the morning,” Owen mumbled to himself as he followed the others down the alleyway.

They walked down the alley and followed the signals. The device led them through several of the dark alleyways and towards a few large warehouse buildings. The lights on the contraption started to blink at a faster pace until, suddenly, they stopped and a static red light shone out into the darkness.

Ianto looked at the building in front of him and then back to the device. Most of the windows were broken, and those of which weren't looked black with dirt. The brickwork seemed flimsy, as though it was in the process of falling down, and the roof was barely there; a skeleton, burnt through in places with only a few tiles still in tact. To say it looked unsafe was an understatement. The wooden door was green, with old chipped paint and gaps between the two doors. Even the padlock seemed old, and just like the hinges, looked rusted into place.

“This is it,” Ianto said. “The signals continue in there.” The substandard wooden door looked as though it would fall open with one gust of wind and rattled dangerously in the strong breeze. “Gorgeous place.”

“Okay.” Jack walked up to the door and peeked through the cracks in the wood. “It's dead in there, but we don't want to take any chances." He pulled his Webley revolver from his holster, and with three firm kicks from his boot, the door swung open.

The others filtered in behind him, lighting every corner with their torches and covering the exists with their guns. Ianto moved beside Gwen, staying out of the way of a swinging roof beam that threatened to fall at any moment.

“Why do I not like this place?” he whispered.

“Because you fear for your life perhaps?” She smiled and nudged him a little. “It's a bit rickety.”

“Rickety? It's beyond rickety. It's a death-trap.”

“They're solid these old buildings,” Gwen said, “they look flimsy, but they're sound really.”

A piece of debris broke free from the ceiling and fell down in front of them; the Welshman stepped back, taking Gwen with him and watched the decayed wood smash as it hit the ground. Gwen put her hand on Ianto's shoulder as thanks before they stepped over the debris and continued to make their way through the warehouse.

“Oh yes,” Ianto droned sarcastically. “Solid.”

“There's nothing here,” Gwen said, moving beside Jack as he walked through the dark room cautiously. “If anything is living here it must have a death wish.”

“There's always something.”

“It's empty!”

“Obviously not that empty.” Tosh pointed to the devices that Ianto was holding. “We have a signal.”

A familiar growl sounded from the darkness and Owen lit the area with his torch, illuminating a Weevil who turned before disappearing. “Not empty,” he said, “not even a little bit.”

“You and Tosh take care of the Weevil, we'll go after the signal.”

Gwen watched Toshiko and Owen go before turning to Jack, glaring.

“What?” he asked, innocent.

“Do you really think it's wise to send those two off alone?”

“It's one Weevil, Owen and Tosh can take care of one Weevil by themselves. We need to concentrate on the job at hand.” Jack turned towards Ianto who was looking down at the device. The lights had started slowly blinking again and when he turned to face the opening of a long corridor they started to flash erratically. “Ianto, what's happening with that signal?”

“That way.” Ianto gestured to the corridor. “It seems pretty strong.”

“Then that's the way we go,” Jack said, shining his torch into the darkness, “I do love dark places, don't you?”

“Depends,” Ianto said.

“Why? Jack moved a little closer to him in he dark. "There's good times to be had in dark corners you know?” Ianto could feel the Captain's eyes on him, burning a gaze through his cool skin.

“I bet there are." Ianto smiled a little; he could feel the Captain's eyes on him, burning a gaze through his cool skin. "But usually if I'm going to have fun in dark corners I like them to be corners without Weevils occupying them at the time.”

“And what's the fun in that?”

Gwen’s voice echoed through the darkness. “I think what Ianto is trying to say, Jack, is that if he's going to be alone with you in a dark corner, he wants to be sure that if he feels teeth pressing against his neck, that it's just you getting a little kinky and not a Weevil trying to rip out his jugular.”

* * *

“Oh, God, that's disgusting!” Owen complained, wiping the bottom of his foot on the wall, trying to knock off the layer of Weevil shit. “What the hell do these things eat?”

“Stop moaning.”

“It's past one in the morning and my caffeine levels are dangerously low, plus I just stepped into Weevil crap, so excuse me if I'm not perky enough for you. I'm shattered Tosh, I need my bed.”

“I'm not asking you to be perky,” Tosh said. "Just to be a little more tolerable. This isn't my idea of a fun night either.” She focused her torch onto the ground and groaned; the trail had gone cold. “We're all run into the ground, but we have to get on with it until it quietens down.”

“You really don't get it do you?” he said. “This is Torchwood, things don't quieten down or haven't you noticed that? In fact things have steadily started to get worse recently.”

 

“I thought it was my imagination. All this rift activity, it feels like something is going on.”

 

“Theres always something going on.”

 

“I've had some pretty strange readings lately.”

“Any Weevils yet?” Jack's voice filtered into Owen's earpiece.

“Nope, no Weevils, no wild Goose's either,” Owen said. “In fact there's fuck all down here. Can we go home yet?”

“Not yet, we're still chasing this signal. If it turns up nothing we'll head back.”

“Well hurry up, we need caffeine. A lot of it.”

 

“Ianto promises industrial strength,” Jack said, chuckle playing deep in his throat. “As always the man's mind is on coffee and don't we just love him for it.”

“I need it so much right now I'd probably shag him for it.”

Suddenly, Ianto's voice came over the system. “You're not my type.”

“If you need any help with the Weevil just let me know and I'll send Ianto down for some backup,” Jack said. "He's good with Weevils."

 

“Don't you dare,” the Welshman interrupted again. "He wants to shag me, I'm more scared of him than I am of the Weevil.”

* * *

Ianto and Gwen led Jack into a large room, it was damp and odorous; the remaining wooden debris on the floor from old broken window frames was rotting, and when Gwen stepped on it her foot just went straight through without any resistance. The sound of scuttling rats made them squirm as they felt the vermin move around their feet, their tails dragging against their ankles.

“This place gives me the creeps,” she said, moving closer to Ianto and bumping into him. “It's so dark, I can't even see my hand in front of my face.” She jumped at the scuttling around her legs. "And all these bloody rats!"

 

“The term infestation comes to mind,” he said, putting his hand on the small of her back, guiding her towards the direction of the signal. “You would think they would knock it down before it falls down.”

“As long as it keeps standing whilst I'm in it, I really don't care.” Gwen glanced over at the device that Ianto was holding and then back to her own. “The signal is getting stronger.”

They walked a little further and then stopped.

“It's here,” Ianto said, pointing to the ground. “X marks the spot.”

Gwen looked at the two devices side-by-side, focusing on the lights as they ceased blinking.  
"but where is it?"

 

“There's nothing here,” Jack said, shining his torch around the bare room, concentrating on a few rats gnawing on something in the corner. “Unless you want to count Roland and his friends.”

“It has to be here.” Ianto looked around the room. “The signal leads us right to this spot, it has to be here.”

“But it's not, there's nothing here,”

 

"Well it can't be tracking nothing, can it?"

 

"Unless it's a trap?" Gwen offered. "It wouldn't be the first time.

 

“Or hidden?" Ianto looked down at the ground and crouched down, shooing the rats away with the head of his torch. “It could just be camouflaged or something.” She ran his gloved fingers over the ground, cringing as he felt a rat brush against his hand. Finally, Ianto rested his hands on a slightly raised patch, and picked something up. "Bingo!"

 

"Remind me to take you next time I go on an Easter egg hunt." Gwen said, illuminating it with her torch.

 

“Is that it?” Jack asked, shining light onto it as he stood to face them.

“I think so.” Ianto took a closer look. “Although it doesn't fit to the mould of the others.”

“It doesn't look the same.” Jack took it and turned it over, dusting it off and inspecting it.

 

There was no denying that it was alien, but it didn't look like the others; where the first two devices were round in shape, this was square, and it was warm to the touch instead of cold like the others. The ridges were shallow, instead of deep, and the display showed no lights at all. He ran his fingers over the flat buttons and gazed up at Gwen and Ianto who looked a little nervous. He pushed the button in the centre of the device and jumped a little when it started to change shape, morphing from square to oblong with rounded edges. Another button appeared in the centre of a flashing green light.

“That's a little unusual,” Gwen said.

“Intriguing though, don't you think?” Jack pressed the new button and watched as two panels slid away, revealing two square holes. “Is that all it does?"

 

“Maybe the other two devices slot into it.” Ianto looked at the two other consoles, ran his fingers over the buttons and pressed them firmly. Two square tabs jolted out from the bottom of each device and Jack glared at them curiously.

“I wonder what they do.” Jack took them, slotting the tabs into the holes and waited for a moment. “Maybe it's alien Lego,” he chuckled.

“Don't say that, remember alien sudoku?” Gwen asked, “Remember that barrel of laughs?”

“Ahh, the Amok,” Ianto reminisced. “That's something I would rather sooner forget.

“Well it doesn't seem to do anything.” Jack looked at it again, focusing on one of the devices; it seemed to be melting. “Apart from melting."

 

Suddenly, the three devices started to burn and Jack let it fall from his hand, watching them as they merged into one object. A bright beam of white light shot out and hit the ceiling before engulfing the room, sucking in everything in sight.

* * *

Owen and Tosh felt the building shake and stepped away from a falling piece of debris.

 

"What the?" Owen held onto the wall he was standing beside.

 

Tosh felt the ground moving and lost her footing, banging her head on the hard stone wall as she fell.

 

"Are you okay?" Owen crouched down beside her.

"I think so."

"Come on." He helped her up and steadied her, putting his arm around her waist. "I think now would be a good time to get the hell out of here."

"Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are much appreciated.


	3. Alien Do-hickeys and Strange Places

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoilers up to season 1x7

"Jack?” Owen was almost yelling at him over the communications system now. He had tried five times with no luck, and the most he got was a static noise that echoed out into the dark of the night. “Ianto? Gwen?” he was starting to sound desperate.

 

“No answer?”

 

“No.” Owen shone his torch down a hallway. “Maybe the tremor knocked their signal out.”

 

“Ours are still in tact.”

 

“They might have been closer to the centre of it, maybe that's why it didn't effect us.” Owen was making excuses now, and even he didn't believe them.

 

“I suppose it's not impossible.”

 

“They went down there.” He pointed into the darkness. “That's where they'll be.”

 

A beam fell from the ceiling, narrowly missing Tosh and she backed away from the dust that rose into the air, then settled on the ground like a blanket of rusty snow.

 

“It looks unsafe,” she said. “What if something happened to them?”

 

“Well that's something that we need to find out.” Owen looked at his teammate, possibly the only one he had and took her hand in his. He moved closer to her in the dark and tilted her chin to look at him, trying to calm the terror that glistened in her dark eyes.“We'll be fine if we stick together and stay calm.”

 

“Right.” She took a deep breath and attempted a smile. “Calm.”

 

He started to make his way through the darkness, the light of the torch creating his only line of vision and kept hold of her hand. He tried to sound brave. “They're going to be fine. It takes more than a blast to get rid of Jack, Gwen is too stubborn to die, and Ianto wouldn't leave his precious coffee machine to the hands of anyone else, especially me, so quit worrying girl.” He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “We'll find them."

* * *

At first there was only a smell, not an unpleasant one by any means, but unfamiliar. It was hard to pinpoint, but it was a sort of summery smell, like the hay in the fields behind his Grandmother's house that he remembered growing up. It was like freshly cut grass and rain, wood chips and wet soil.

 

After the smell of summer and rain and countless other things registered themselves in his senses, he felt something hard underneath him. Stone; cold, wet and very hard stone with rough pebbles that stuck into his hips through his trousers . He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't. The burning in his left hand was intense and the heaviness on his chest made him feel like he was being held down by something; Ianto felt like he was being crushed from both sides, like something was stopping him from moving.

 

There didn't seem to be any sound, just the vibration of rain against the ground and the faraway gust of the wind through the trees.

 

Tress?

 

Cardiff in the winter just didn't smell of summer and a rotting rat infested warehouses just didn't have an aroma of wood chips. The Warehouse was in the docklands, far away from the trees, and the feel of the scuttling rats over his skin had gone.

 

He felt like he was in Oz. He didn't know much but without even opening his eyes he was certain of one thing; Ianto Jones wasn't in Cardiff any more."

* * *

The whole building was dark, darker than it had before and the light of the torch, as bright as it was, didn't light much of the path. Every time Owen heard a creek he raised his light to the ceiling to check the structure before leading Toshiko further into the never-ending darkness.

 

“I don't like the sound of this place,” she said. “It sounds like it's going to fall down at any moment.”

 

“Well.” Owen sighed and turned a corner, investigating the walls as he went. “We have three options. We can continue ahead until we find the others, turn back and hope they turn up, or get crushed to death by falling wooden beams. I'm kind of hoping it's either one or two.”

 

“According to my readings the structure is flimsy and rotting, but it seems to be holding." Toshiko looked at her hand-held scanner, tapping away at the screen with her stylus, squinting to see. “I can't see any heat signals other than the two that belong to us, but then again the screen keeps flashing up an error, so I don't think it's in complete working order.”

 

“What do you think we should do? Do we head back to the SUV or do we keep moving?”

 

“We've come this far and I know what Jack would do if it was the other way around; he'd search until he found us, alive or dead.” Toshiko could feel her confidence fading, and her voice shook a little as she said the last word. “Owen, what if--”

 

“They're not dead.”

* * *

Gwen groaned, touched her hand to her throbbing head and opened her eyes slowly. She looked around and tried to make out shapes in the dark, but everything just seemed to look sideways. It wasn't until she focussed on the ground that she realised that she was lying face down. Gwen cursed the throbbing in her head as she pushed herself up off the ground and sat up, looking around.

 

Her vision was a little blurred and she rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times to get it back. She tried to fight off the dull thud of her headache, but it felt like someone was trying to break out of her head from the inside with a metal bar. Gwen could taste what seemed to be her own blood in her mouth and her lip stung like it had been cut. She had no idea how long she had been there, but judging by the lack of blood it had obviously been a while.

 

It was dark, almost pitch black and it was hard to make anything out other than her immediate surroundings. She heard footsteps in the distance. The sound of heavy boots on stone echoed between the rain and the wind in the trees. She pulled her gun from her belt and pointed it blindly into the darkness.

 

“Who's there?” Gwen winced as she tried to pull herself to her feet. Her ankle felt weak and painful like it was broken and as much as she tried she couldn’t find the strength in it to get up.

 

“Are you alright Miss?” The voice was booming, but not unkind, with a thick Welsh accent.

 

“Stay back, I'm armed!” She warned, feeling around in her pocket for her pen torch . When she found it, she pointed it in his direction to try and see what she was dealing with. The light was weak and she couldn't see much, but she could just about make out a tall msn, wearing big leather boots and a tweed cap. He was wielding a shotgun, but it was folded harmlessly over his arm, probably unloaded. “Who are you?”

 

“I should be asking you that Miss, this is my courtyard.”

 

He moved closer, walking into the light of her torch and she glared at him, aiming her Glock. He was taller than he had looked before, touching on six three, with workman's boots, old mud-stained trousers and a brown tweed waistcoat. His face was kind, with dull blue eyes that seemed to look into her, with a shadow of rough stubble on his chin.

 

“Tell me who you are or I'll shoot.” She warned him again, this time loading the barrel. She pushed herself back towards a wall with her good leg. “I'm not kidding around. How did I get here?”

 

“I'm Joseph Hughes, I own this land so why don’t you just explain who you are first and we’ll take it from there..”

 

“Where am I?” Gwen ignored his request.

 

“On my land, now tell me your name Miss, or I have a good mind to call the police and report you for trespassing.”

 

“Gwen.” She gave in. “Gwen Cooper.”

 

“That's a local sounding name all right, but you're not from around here. I would know your face.”

 

“You won't tell me where I am so how would I know if I'm from around here or not.”

 

“You look hurt.” Mr Hughes walked towards her cautiously and put his gun down on the ground, moving towards her. “I've put my gun down, so there's no reason to be scared.”

 

“I'm fine, now back up a little and keep your hands where I can see them.”

 

He stepped back a little bit and put his hands up as instructed. “Let me help you up. I'm not going to hurt you”

 

Gwen pointed the gun again. “I mean it, keep your distance!”

* * *

Owen led Tosh into the last room in the building; it looked different from the others. Where the rest were filled with scuttling rats, this one was empty save for a black spiral in the centre of the room around six feet in circumference. The door had been blown off its rusted hinges, and lay on the floor cracked and burnt out.

 

“This doesn't look good.” Toshiko crouched down in the middle of the room and scanned the black ring with her device. “It's loaded with radiation.”

 

“Harmful?”

 

“Not unless you do something stupid like lick it, or touch it. No, it's contained to this ring but it's high in radioactive properties.”

 

“Apart from the radioactive liquorice in the middle of the room, and the door blown off its hinges does anything else strike you about this room, Tosh?”

 

“The lack of infestation?”

 

“Exactly.” He sighed and moved his torch around the room. “Whatever happened here, it was big enough to make rats run for their lives. Those things stick around to gnaw the toes off half-living Weevils, so it had to be something pretty scary to make them scarper.”

 

“So where are Jack and the others?”

 

“Not here evidentially.” He focussed his light on an open door at the opposite end of the room. “Looks like the rats weren't the only ones to scarper.” He sighed. “Nice of them to let us know, ey?”

* * *

Jack awoke to the sound of heavy breathing against his ear and a strange sound that he couldn't quite describe, like someone trying to eat something that they couldn't quite bite through. He could feel his coat being pulled away from him and a smell of old hay wafted in the cold breeze. Opening his eyes, Jack stared directly into the face of a large white horse chewing on his coat.

 

“Usually I love waking up with a stallion,” he groaned, wrestling it for his coat before standing up. “Today, I'm not so enthusiastic. Funny that.”

 

The horse bucked, raising onto his hind legs and let out a cry as he moved towards him; Jack backed away a little and grabbed the reins, pulling it back down, then stroked the length of his nose to calm it. The horse moved into the palm of Jack’s hand and closed his eyes.

 

“Have you seen anyone else around here?” Jack asked. “Cute guy with cheekbones that you could cut diamonds on and painfully good tailoring?” The horse looked at him and started to chew on the lapels of his coat again. “No? What about a woman then, huh? Dark hair, an air of fuck you, and a nice tasty leather jacket?” He pulled his coat out of the horse's mouth again. “Don't chew the coat.”

 

The horse looked at him, letting out a noisy breath from its nostrils.

 

“You're not a very observant witness,” Jack said. “Although I suspect that you would do anything for a carrot.”

 

The Captain took a deep breath and let go of the reins, patting the horse on the nose.

 

“Well if you see them tell them Jack was looking for them.” He started to walk away and then turned back. “But, here's a word of warning.” He pointed his finger at the horse. “Whatever you do, don't chew Ianto's Jacket -- that man's tailoring is not to be messed with. If you ruin the line of his suit he'll ruin you.”

 

The horse took a step back towards the other side of the stable and Jack wandered over to the door to open it. He took a deep breath and inhaled the air; wherever he was, it wasn't Cardiff city, at least not twenty-first century Cardiff city. The sky was black with a scattering of yellow stars and a clear crescent moon. He looked out into the darkness and spotted what looked like a farmhouse in the distance.

 

“Okay,” he sighed to himself. “I wonder if anyone's home.”

 

Jack walked out and closed the door firmly behind him, locking it to keep the horse safely inside. He made his way towards the courtyard that surrounded the building, looking around as he went. He stood still and listened to a sound in the distance; voices, two voices, and one of them very familiar.

 

“I don't know what it is that you think I'm going to do to you Miss, but I can assure you I'm not going to harm you.”

 

“You just keep back, you hear me mate? Keep back.”

 

Jack smiled a little and ran over towards the voices, almost slipping on the slippery stone as he tried to stop. He came face to face with him, offering his hand in an handshake.

 

“Captain Jack Harkness. Nice place you have here.” He shook the man's hand and pulled Gwen to her feet, putting his arm around her waist to support her. “You okay?”

 

“Took you long enough, didn’t it?”

 

“You know me, I like to make a dramatic entrance.”

 

“Are you two together?” Joseph asked, relaxing a little.

 

“She's a little bit jumpy. We had a bit of a confrontation with a scary fellow a few days ago and ever since she's been a little bit defensive.”

 

“I see.”

 

“She's a harmless little kitten really.”

 

“Kitten?” Gwen snapped her neck to look at him. “Who the hell are you calling a--”

 

“She’s just jumpy.” Jack nudged her in the side. “Certainly nothing to be scared of.”

 

“You need to keep your woman under control, sir,” he said.

 

“Under--” Gwen started to speak, but Jack nudged her in the side again.

 

“I will.”

 

“Be on your way,” Joseph said.

 

“Look, clearly she's hurt. Would you be kind enough to let us come inside?” Jack asked. "Just for a moment until I see whether she needs a Doctor.”

 

“That thing.” Mr. Hughes pointed to the gun that she was holding. “What is it?”

 

“It's nothing,” Jack said. "Just something she bought it in the city. I told her it was no good but she insisted and you know what ladies are like; they see something pretty and they just have to have it.”

 

“Right.” Joseph looked at them with suspicion, but broke into a smile. “Follow me.”

 

Mr. Hughes led the way to the house and Jack started to follow, helping Gwen along. He grabbed the gun and put it in his pocket. “You had better not wave this thing around, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves.”

 

“Where are we?” she asked.

 

“No idea. I think the more important question is--”

 

“When are we?”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Any guesses?” Gwen groaned as she hopped alongside Jack.

 

“Judging by his reaction and the way he's dressed, somewhere between the nineteenth century and the mid twentieth.”

 

“Well that's specific!” She scalded in a whisper. “How am I meant to get home? I told Rhys that I would be back tonight. He's making Indian and everything.”

 

“Calm down, Tosh will sort it. Technically you're not even born yet, so you can't be late home. I'm sure your curry will be still warm when you get there.”

 

“We're trapped in God only knows what century in the middle of nowhere, with a guy in a Tweed hat who seems to think that I'm some damsel in distress that needs controlling. I will not calm down.”

 

“Why can’t you do as I say, just this one time because you're really not helping things here.”

 

“Well excuse me for being just a little concerned about going back in sodding time!”

 

“Have you seen Ianto?” Jack asked suddenly, losing track of the conversation.

 

“I thought he must be with you.”

 

Jack stopped and darted his eyes around the courtyard, scanning the land with his eyes. “He has to be here somewhere.”

 

“Come on!” Joseph called. “The rain is holding off, but I can smell it in the air. We need to get her inside before she gets a chill on her chest.”

 

“Has there been anyone else pass through here tonight?” Jack asked, hurrying Gwen towards Joseph. “A young man, about--”

 

“No. Nobody passes through here, you're the first people we've seen in weeks.”

 

“It's important that I find him.”

 

“Do you want to come inside or not?”

 

“I need to find him,” Jack said desperately. "He's like a brother to me.”

 

“Alright.” Joseph stopped and turned towards Jack. “We’ll get her inside away from the cold. I'll wake my daughter and ask her to sit with her, then we'll come back out and find him.”

 

“Thank you.”

* * *

“We can't just leave them!” Toshiko shouted as they walked towards the SUV.

 

“They're not here.”

 

“They have to be!”

 

“They're not.” Owen opened the door to the vehicle and sat the driver's seat, turning to look at her. “There are no human heat signals in there, the alien do-hickey's are nowhere to be seen and we're searched the place over and over several times. Tosh, they're not there.”

 

“Then where are they?”

 

“Well they've either gone to the pub for a pint, which is highly unlikely, or something has happened to them.”

 

“Maybe the signal led them somewhere else?”

 

“No.” Owen shook his head defiantly. “Jack would not leave, not without telling us. If they're not inside and they're not here then something has happened.”

 

“Maybe they're just in a no coverage area.”

 

“This is Torchwood. People in Torchwood disappear; they get eaten, or sucked into the rift, or involved in something that you couldn't even dream of happening outside of Scooby Doo or Buffy the Vampire slayer. Expect the unexpected Tosh, because nine times out of ten you can't predict what's going to happen.”

 

“So what do we do?”

 

“We get back to the hub.”

 

“Okay.” Tosh gave up and ran around to the other side, getting in just in time for Owen to drive off.

 

“We need a plan.”

 

“I can check the rift monitor when we get back to see if there's been any recent spikes in the area. The worst case scenario is that they've slipped through and if that has happened then the monitor program should tell us when.”

 

“Then what?”

 

“Then I figure it out from there. I can check for Jack's wrist device signal and see what I find.”

 

“That's the best plan you've got?” Owen asked. “You search for his signal?”

 

“It's the only plan I've got.”

 

“And what's your plan B?”

 

“I don't have one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are much appreciated :)


	4. Meetimg Iris Hughes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the team struggle to adjust to their surroundings, Tosh and Owen must try to find a lead to bring them back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoilers up to season 1x7

Ianto rolled over in bed and tucked the sheets under him, slowly opening his eyes to look at the clock. He squinted, sitting up a little to look properly at the carriage clock that stood on the wooden bedside cabinet. His eyes darted around the unfamiliar surroundings of the room. The old cast iron bed squeaked as he moved and the old sash windows rattled in the wind.

 

A knock on the door echoed through the room and a lady walked inside. She was a beautiful woman, probably in her early twenties, with her long blonde hair tied back in a thick plait.

"I see you're finally awake."

“Where am I?” Ianto asked.

 

“Crickhowell, sir.”

 

“Crickhowell?” Ianto sat up in bed a little more and pulled at the sheets again, taking another look around the room. “But that's miles from Cardiff!”

 

“Your friend, the Captain, he seemed a little confused about that too. It's amazing how far people can travel without even knowing in which direction it is that they're going. Although with a mind like his I'm surprised that he would even notice; quite a man of the world according to my father. He said he seems to be quite the charmer, or so I've been warned.”

 

“Where is he, where's Jack?” Ianto asked, throwing the sheets off and standing up. “I need to talk to him.”

 

“Sir!” the woman turned around to face the window, “Please!”

 

Ianto looked down at his body and grabbed the sheets hastily, wrapping them around him. He had so far failed to notice the lack of clothing. He blushed. “Where have my clothes gone?”

 

The woman refused to turn around. “The Captain insisted that he remove all of your clothing to prevent you from getting a chill.”

 

“Did he, now?”

 

“Could you please get back into bed Mr. Jones, I have no desire to see what you are currently displaying.”

 

“I'm sorry, I didn't realise.”

 

“Could you please get back into bed Mr. Jones?”

 

Ianto did as he was instructed and climbed back into bed, sitting up against the wrought iron headboard. “I'm so sorry.”

 

“Are you decent?” She turned around slowly and looked down to her feet. “You should stay there for a while, you were running a high fever last night.”

 

“I feel fine.”

 

The woman stepped closer to the bed and tucked her skirt underneath her before perching on the edge. She reached her hand towards Ianto's forehead cautiously and touched it for a moment, refusing to look into his eyes. “You do seem to be a little better, but you could still be sick.” Ianto removed the woman's hand from his forehead and she pulled it away quickly, standing up and walking over to the large oak wardrobe. “As it doesn't seem that you're the kind of man who does what is in his best interest and rest when he's been advised to do so, I do suppose you should get dressed. You can borrow some of my brother's clothes for now.”

 

“Won't he mind?” Ianto asked.

 

“No. He's working in London and I doubt we'll see him again until Christmas. He's a little shorter than you, but you have the same kind of build so these should fit you fine.” Iris smiled and hugged one of her brothers waistcoats to her chest, leaning back on the wardrobe. “You're built like a farm boy, but something tells me you're not.”

 

“No,” Ianto chuckled. “Quite the City boy at heart if I'm honest.”

 

“You have eyes like Patrick," she said. "Quite striking if you don't mind me saying so."

 

“Patrick is your brother?”

 

“Yes.” Iris smiled and then let it fall from her face. “I have four, but they all work away. I miss Patrick the most; the others are no better than they ought.”

 

“And they don't come home often?”

 

“It's a long way from London. They come home when they can and send money when they can afford it and we really can't ask any better than that. I'm sure you send money home your family.”

 

“Not really, they don't need it.”

 

“Then they're very lucky Mr. Jones,” she said, letting the hint of a smile shine through. “What wouldn't I give to have a family like that?”

 

“What's your name?” he asked.

 

“excuse me?” The woman looked him in the eyes, probably for the first time, and questioned him with her gaze.

 

“I have no idea what to call you.”

 

“Iris Hughes.” She looked away from him and turned back to the wardrobe. “And that's Miss Hughes to you Mr. Jones, you and your friends seem far too familiar with each other for my liking. It's rather unusual behaviour if you ask me."

 

“Don't call me Mr. Jones.”

 

“Why not? It is your name isn't it?”

 

“It makes me sound like my Dad.”

 

“Then what would I call you?”

 

“Ianto?”

 

“I couldn't possibly call you that, sir,” she said. “I barely know you.”

 

“Mr. Jones makes me feel uncomfortable,” he explained. “Please, call me Ianto.”

 

“All right then, Ianto it is.” She placed some clothes on the bed. “You can call me Miss Hughes, if my father heard you calling me Iris I think that he would practically explode. He's very old fashioned.”

 

“I could say that you're rather old fashioned yourself.”

 

“You say that not.” Iris closed the wardrobe and headed for the door, looking over her shoulder. “You haven't met my father yet.”

 

Jack walked up the stairs and bumped into Iris on the landing as she came out of Ianto's room. It was a lot lighter than the night before and it was easier to see the house more clearly. The décor was old, even for the time and the floorboards seemed to shake as he walked; it was obvious that the old house hadn't been taken care of for quite a while.

 

“Did you sleep well Captain?” Iris backed away slightly from him. The hallway was far from spacious and she almost found herself backed up against the wall in her efforts to keep her distance. Her back thumped against the wall and she looked up at him, trying to look away from his deep piercing eyes.

 

“Yes. Are you alright there?”

 

“Yes, sir. Of course sir. Perpetually splendid sir. Why wouldn't I be Mr. Captain, sir.” Iris rambled and shot Jack a stern look when he chuckled a little. She pulled her apron down and crossed her arms over her chest.

 

“It's Jack.”

 

“No sir, it's definitely Captain,” she corrected. “I hope the room was a sufficient size for you, there's not room for much more than a bed and in that old room.”

 

“I was fine,” Jack said, “cosy and dry. That's really all I needed.”

 

“Father said that you, Mr Jones and your lady friend will stay to help a while.”

 

“Just until we can go home,” Jack said. "We all have talents that you could use in return for a roof over our heads for a little while.”

 

“It's nice to have visitors; we rarely see anyone but each other these days.”

 

“It was very nice of your father to take us in.”

 

“Well we couldn't let Mr. Jones lie out in the rain like that and your lady friend was obviously injured. It seems as though you're the only one who managed to stay in one piece.”

 

“Speaking of which, how is he?” Jack gestured to the door. “I was hoping to see him.”

 

“He's awake now and eager to see you.”

 

“He's okay then?”

 

“He's dressing.”

 

“Good.” Jack smiled and twisted the doorknob, pushing the heavy oak door open a little.

 

“Sir.” Iris looked at the Captain as he pushed the door. “He's not decent.”

 

“He hasn't got anything that I haven't seen before, trust me.”

 

Jack knocked on the door once before opening it and walking inside; he closed it behind him and leaned on it, crossing his arms as he watched the younger man dress. A smile spread over his lips at the sight of Ianto and the clothes that he was wearing. The outfit consisted of a loose cotton shirt, unfastened and a pair of brown trousers. He licked his lips as Ianto turned to look at him for a moment before removing his gaze and continued to dress himself.

 

Ianto Picked up the tweed waistcoat from the bed and slipped it on over his shoulders before starting to fasten his shirt. He could sense Jack watching him and waited for him to speak.

 

“Not many guys can pull of tweed,” Jack said, pushing himself off the door. He wandered slowly over to Ianto and sat down on the bed. “But you make it look very good.”

 

Ianto said nothing, but smiled a little as he tucked in his shirt and fastened up his waistcoat.

 

“We were worried about you for a while. You woke up and told me that you loved me.” he smiled. “But then you asked why the Monkey was eating your cheese and I figured you were just confused.”

 

“I was running a fever,” Ianto explained.

 

“Shame, I got excited.”

 

“Where are we?” Ianto didn't look at him.

 

“Wales?” Jack suggested.

 

“What year, Jack?”

 

Jack sighed in defeat and licked his lips before speaking. “1901.”

 

"What?" Ianto turned around slowly and looked at Jack who stared up at him from his spot on the bed.

 

“July ninth to be precise.”

 

The younger man slumped down onto the bed beside Jack and let himself fall until he was lying down. He put his hands over his face and mumbled something Jack couldn't quite understand through his hands.

 

“You know it's not the end of the world,” Jack said, moving to lie beside him and removing his hands. Ianto looked up at him for answers. “We won't be here long.”

 

“How are we going to get back?”

 

“We'll find a way.”

 

“And what if we don't?” Ianto asked. He sat up and rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. "What then?"

 

“We will.”

 

“But what if--”

 

“We will!” Jack said, sitting beside him. “Trust me and quit worrying.”

 

“Trust you?” Ianto looked at Jack directly in the eyes and took a deep breath. “You tell me that we're stuck in rural Wales in 1901 without knowing how, or if we're going to get back and you're telling me to quit worrying and trust you?”

 

“There's no point. Worrying doesn't solve any problems. I already have Gwen freaking out on me, I need you to trust in me and be calm.”

 

“Why aren't you more worried?” he asked. “Why aren't you scared?”

 

“We got here so there has to be a way to get back somehow.” Jack watched Ianto as he walked over to the window and looked out; there was nothing but fields as far as the eye could see. “And I am scared.”

 

“What if we can't get back?” Ianto asked slowly. "What if were stuck here with no way home?”

 

“Well--” Jack sighed and followed Ianto over to the window, putting his hand on his shoulder. “Rural Wales is pretty and you look cute in tweed.”

 

“It's not a joke, Jack.” Ianto turned around to face the him.

 

“I know. But it'll work out and you really do look great in tweed.”

 

Ianto looked at Jack for a moment before cracking a smile so small it was barely there. He took a breath and shoved his hands in his pockets.

 

“So what's the plan?”

 

“We'll head out after lunch and have a look around the surrounding area to see if we can find any sign of any of the devices. I've made an arrangement with Mr. Hughes and he said that we can stay here for as long as we need to as long as we help out and earn our keep.”

 

“What did you tell him?”

 

“Well as luck would have it we do have a legitimate reason to stay,” Jack said. "Fortunately for us, if not a little unfortunate for her, Gwen's not-so-little little tumble into 1901 has left her with a particularly swollen and painful ankle.”

 

“Is she alright?”

 

“Nothing that two days rest won't fix. But I may have embellished the story just a little to make it seem as though she might need a bit extra time to recover. So as long as she manages to stretch out her recovery the better it is for us.”

 

“So we lie?” he asked.

 

“What do you think would work best as a cover story? Jack asked. “We're three people from the future who, not only have travelled through a rift in time, but are also part of a secret organisation to monitor alien activity on earth. Or, we're three people who happened to be passing through when one of us got inured and now need a place to rest up for a few days?”

 

“I suppose lying is better than getting thrown into a mental institution.”

 

“Exactly. I'll let you finish getting dressed and meet you downstairs.” Jack made his way over to the door and paused before he reached it, turning around. “Oh, and I've been meaning to ask, can you milk a cow?”

 

“What?” Ianto eyed Jack suspiciously, walking over to him slowly. “Why?

 

“You know what, don't worry about it,” Jack said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. “I'll see you about it later.”

 

“Jack,” Ianto drew out his words and edged closer to him. “Why do I need to know how to milk a cow?”

 

“No reason, I just – I was wondering, that's all. Don't worry about it.” Jack disappeared quickly out of the door, leaving Ianto alone in the room alone, and more confused than before.

* * *

Tosh tucked her hair behind her ears as she typed commands into the computer, trying to make some kind of sense of the equations; she had been there all night trying to figure them out and the best she could do was hazzard a guess. She heard the large metal door roll open and the alarms snapped her out of his daze. Owen walked in carrying a brown paper bag and two cups of takeaway coffee.

 

“They only had chocolate doughnuts,” he said, setting his coffee down.

 

“I don't care what it is, as long as I can eat it.”

 

“Urgh!” Owen sniffed the coffee before putting it down without drinking it. “I miss Ianto already.”

 

“I never knew you cared.”

 

“He could make coffee. I need coffee, I miss coffee.” Owen pointed to the container. “This is not coffee, it's hot water with colouring.”

 

“I think it's fine.”

 

“Did you manage to calculate the figures yet?” Owen asked, sipping his coffee as he perched on the desk.

 

“It looks like the rift opened for a period of 2.4 seconds at 01:23 this morning.”

 

“That correlates with the time they dropped out of contact.”

 

“Yes, but it doesn't tell us where they are. They could be anywhere. Without knowing where they are I can't finish the equation I need to do anything."

 

“Shit.” Owen put his pencil between his teeth and rolled his chair over to his own desk, pointing at the screen. “I had a little look through past files this morning to see if anything showed up."

 

"And?"

 

"And there's nothing yet.”

 

“Why are you looking through past files exactly?”

 

Owen concentrated hard on the computer screen, scrolling down the page with the mouse. “Well, if they slipped through the rift and went to Torchwood for help then it should be documented, but there's nothing flagged up so far. Of course if they've gone so far back that Torchwood doesn't exist then we're screwed.”

 

“What if they didn't go back?” Tosh asked. “What if they went forward?”

 

“Then we're screwed then, too.”

 

"Great."

 

"Any leads on Jack's wrist strap?"

 

"Nothing. The signal went dead when the rift opened, but I've set up a tracking program incase it comes online."

 

“So what now?”

 

“No idea,” she admitted.

 

“Phase two?” Owen suggested. "Doesn't your plan have a phase two?”

 

“Well the problem with phase two is that Jack usually comes up with phase two.”

 

“So what do we do?”

 

“Think.”

 

They sat in silence for a moment, looking at the computer screens and then each other. Tosh opened her mouth to speak but then closed it. “Maybe we should call someone.”

 

“Like who?” he asked, “The rift helpline?”

 

"Torchwood two?”

 

“No way! I am not going to tell that twat that we lost Jack and two members of our team to the rift.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“He's smug enough as it is. No, no there has to be another way.”

 

“But--”

 

“No!” Owen said. “I'm not asking him for help.”

 

“Then I'm fresh out of ideas. There has to be someone else who can help.”

 

Owen stood up in his chair suddenly and grabbed a torch from his drawer. “Suzie!”

 

“Suzie?” Tosh leapt up and Followed Owen as he ran towards the stairs that lead to the archives.

 

“Suzie had all this research into the rift, all to do with the weaponry that fell through. If I know her, and I think I did, she's documented every little detail that she knew; she was pedantic like that. The answer could be right here and all we have to do is look for it.”

 

“No offence Owen, but Suzie wasn't exactly a model Torchwood employee; she went on a murdering spree for God's sake.”

 

“But this research was before the glove; it was the glove that changed her.”

 

“It's worth a shot, I suppose."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments appreictaed


	5. Frowned upon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoilers up to 1x7

Gwen hopped around the kitchen on one foot, steadying herself on the large wooden table that stood in the centre, almost falling when she heard footsteps behind her. She groaned at the pain in her foot as she limped across the kitchen quickly in order to sit back down. Jack had promised to tie her to a chair if he caught her hopping around again, and for once she didn't think he was kidding.

 

“Before you say anything, I wasn't moving,” she explained. “I was just trying to get comfortable.”

 

"The Captain is out."

 

Gwen looked at the figure in the doorway and frowned at the sight of Iris who walked towards her and sat opposite her at the table. 

 

"That's a rather unusual looking coat," she said. “Where did you get it?”

 

“I think it was a boutique In London,” she lied. "New designs from America- it's going to be really fashionable.".

 

"It's rather unusual to see a lady in clothing like that." Iris inspected her. “It looks like a hunter’s jacket.”

 

"I'm not from the same mould as others.”

 

“Obviously not. I had trouble believing you were a lady at all from your attire.”

 

“What's that supposed to mean?”

 

“Your whole appearance," Iris said. “You have to admit, it’s rather masculine.”

 

Gwen looked down at her outfit; leather boots that matched her jacket, skinny jeans and a red blouse. “It's what I wear where I come from,” she said.

 

“Its not at all flattering.”

 

“It's comfortable, and comfort is more important than fashion in my line of work.”

 

“And what's that?” she asked. 

 

“A lot of things, I don't think you would understand.”

 

“You think that I'm small-minded because I've lived a sheltered existence?”

 

“No, you're just --” Gwen sighed. “I don't think we've got off on the best foot." 

 

“I suppose that comes from being from different worlds.”

 

“Very different worlds,” Gwen admitted. “I really don't belong here.”

 

“You and your friends certainly do seem a little different.”

 

“Believe me, Jack is outrageous wherever you come from.”

 

Iris put her hands on the table and leaned over it, looking at Gwen with interest. “Why do you call the Captain that?”

 

“It's his name.”

 

“And he's just a friend?”

 

“A very good friend and a colleague.”

 

“And is Mr. Jones a colleague, too?”

 

“Yes. And a friend." 

 

“You don't give much away,” Iris said. "You're very secretive.”

 

“I'm not secretive.”

 

“Then tell me more then?”

 

“Well, my name is Gwen Cooper and I'm a special operative, those two men are my colleagues Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones. Neither of them are my keeper and I have my own mind so I would appreciate it if you treat me that way.”

 

“You're just as stubborn as my father,” Iris smiled. ”I admire that.”

 

Gwen smiled back apologetically. “I'm sorry. This is all very new to me”

 

“Don't worry about it.” Iris stood up and offered her hand to Gwen. “Stand up and I'll show you where you'll be sleeping. We're a little cramped I'm afraid; you're sharing with me and Mr Jones and the Captain have to share. Do you think they'll mind?”

 

"No." Gwen couldn't help but smirk. “I'm sure they won't have any problems.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Oh, they're very close.”

 

* * *

 

Tosh and Owen marched onto a crime scene, ducking under police tape to look at two more bodies.

 

"We really don't have time for this," Owen said as he crouched down and put on some gloves. "We're three men down. We should be finding a way to get them back instead of this"

 

"We still have a job to do, Owen. Jack would kill us if we just ignored everything else that was happening."

 

"Yeah, I know, but it's still annoying isn't it?" 

 

"Right, what have we got?" Owen pulled back the first victims clothing to inspect the large chunk that had been taken out. "Weevil attack."

 

"Same here." Tosh looked at the other body. "They must be running out of rats down there."

 

"Poor sod, imagine being mauled to death by a Weevil?" 

 

"I'm picking up a faint trace of rift energy." She scanned the second victim, then the first. "On both." 

 

"Well of course you are, nothing like a simple case when you're fucking busy, is there?" 

 

"Murphy's law." She scanned the chest, her hand held device set off warning tones. She pulled down their clothing, pulling out another identical device hanging around his neck, although the lights were dull. "Owen!"

 

"What?"

 

"Check to see if your victim has anything familiar hanging around its neck?"

 

"Shit.”

 

"Let's get these back to base."

 

"Give the police the usual spiel." Owen dragged the first body up and over his shoulder. "I'll load the wagon."

 

"The energy seems to be coming exclusively from the victims, nothing in the immediate vicinity to suggest anything untoward. It's the devices I would guess, they're giving us energy readings." 

 

Owen struggled with the body. "It's times like this I miss Ianto," he said. "I'm never going to get the blood out this shirt without him."

* * *

Jack stopped searching the fields and took a seat on the ground, running his hands through his hair as he watched Ianto work tirelessly. He looked at the younger man as he relentlessly searched every inch of the large paddock, even going so far as delving his hands into the deep mud puddles caused by the recent downpour. He stood up and walked over to him, putting his hand on his back.

 

“Take a break,” he said.

 

“It has to be here somewhere.” Ianto shrugged off Jack's touch and continued to search, wiping his hands on his trousers to clean them. “If we travelled here it must have come with us. All we need is one of the components and it can lead us to the others.”

 

“Just sit down for a moment.” Jack tried to persuade him, but Ianto refused to stop, and continued searching every area he could. “Please.”

 

Ianto stood up and turned around to face Jack, following him over to the only dry patch of land underneath the large draping oak tree. He sat down, leaving a space between them and tucked his knees into his chest. He stared at the ground for a moment, actively searching without making it too obvious.

 

“Did Iris show you the room?" Jack asked.

 

“Yes. If you recall I spent a good few hours there concussed and mad at the monkey who stole my cheese” Ianto didn't remove his gaze from the ground.

 

“It's very nice of Mr. Hughes to put us up somewhere so nice, I was half expecting to sleeping in the barn.”

 

'where did you sleep last night?"

 

"Up in the attic, I didn't want to disturb you."

 

“So, why can’t you stay there?”

 

“It’s freezing up there and there’s a hole in the roof above the bed.” 

 

“Where's Gwen going to sleep?”

 

“With Iris.” Jack turned to look at Ianto and edged a little closer to him. “You don't mind sharing a bed with me do you? Because I can sleep on the floor, or we can top to tail.”

 

“Why would I mind?”

 

“Maybe my animal magnetism is too much for you.”

 

“I'll restrain myself somehow,” Ianto said dryly, taking little notice of the conversation.

 

“Ianto--” Jack closed the gap between them and nudged him with his elbow. “What's wrong?”

 

Ianto looked over at Jack and then shook his head, refocusing his gaze to his feet. “You really need to ask that?”

 

“We'll get back.”

 

“You keep saying that,” Ianto said. “I'm starting to doubt how much you believe it yourself.”

 

“It's early days yet, we've got a lot more ground to search. If it's not here it'll be with Tosh and Owen by now.”

 

The silence drifted a wedge between them again and Ianto looked up into the sky; the dark clouds from earlier in the day had long gone and only blue sky remained. The sun was starting to dry the wet ground and in some places, in the shade under the large oak tree, the dirt was so hard it was cracking. Ianto bent down and plucked a daisy from the grass and twirled it between his thumb and forefinger, stopping for a moment to pick off the thin white petals one by one. He took a deep breath.

 

“I used to love the country when I was a kid.”

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Yeah. My dad would take me and my sister out. We'd go camping and do all the clichè stuff like cook fish on a stick and wash in streams and stuff."

 

"Sounds fun." 

 

"I hated it." Ianto laughed a little. "We got all muddy and my sister moaned all the time, then he shouted at us. But after tea we'd make up and it would all be right again, just for him to start shouting again in the morning. "

 

"Typical family holiday."

 

"He was a very calm man usually, but there was something about being out in the country that changed him into someone I didn't want to be around."

 

"It's the quietness," Jack said. "It affects us all in totally different ways."

 

"Being here just reminds me so much of things I'd rather forget."

 

"When we get back--"

 

“If we get back," Ianto corrected. 

 

“No, when we get back.” The older man sat up and put his hand on Ianto's shoulder. “Relax and enjoy the beauty for a few days, you'll miss it when you're back in Cardiff with a mountain of paperwork and Owen nagging you for coffee every two minutes.”

 

"You could stay here forever and nobody would even notice you were gone and you think I'm the same. Just because I spend every waking minute with you it doesn't mean I have nobody to get back to.” Ianto's voice came across bitter and his eyes seemed dark with frustration. Jack moved away from him, starting to stand up and Ianto sighed, looking up at him. He grabbed his hand. “I didn't mean that.”

 

“Yes you did.”

 

“No, I didn't.” The younger man placed his other hand over Jack's wrist, feeling the pulse through his fingertips. “I'm just scared. I want to blame you and it's wrong for me to do that.”

 

"You're right though." Jack turned around to face him and sat back down, putting his hand over the younger man's. “I'm not exactly missed back home.”

 

“If you weren't here I would miss you,” Ianto said. "I wouldn't know what to do.”

 

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” Jack smiled and Ianto looked at him for a moment, smiling back faintly. “No, really, it will.”

 

“I don't even want to think about where my flattery could get me. Knowing you I would end up naked and tied to a bedpost being tickled by an Ostrich feather.”

 

“Ostrich feather?” Jack asked, arching an eyebrow at Ianto who looked at him. “Kinky.”

 

“You know what I mean.”

 

“Yes, you have a kinky streak.” 

 

“I do not have a kinky streak.”

 

“You want to be stripped naked, tied up and tickled with an Ostrich feather; that's the definition of kinky in my book.”

 

“I have no interest in doing anything remotely kinky with you Jack, so you can rid your mind of any ideas that I am in any way interested.”

 

“You're already holding my hand,” he said looking down at their hands. Ianto's fingers were still laced between Jack's. 

 

“I know.” The younger man looked down and made no attempt to move.

 

“It's 1901,” he said. "It's very much frowned upon.”

 

“I'll stop then.” Ianto started to move his hand away and Jack stopped him, placing his other hand on top.

 

“I didn't say that I frowned upon it.”

 

“I doubt that Mr. Hughes would find it acceptable for two men to be holding hands in his field Jack,” Ianto said, looking at jack who lifted their hands to his lips and kissed Ianto's fingers. “Or indeed doing that.”

 

“I'm not doing anything.”

 

“I think we should probably start searching again before--”

 

“Before what?” Jack asked.

 

"Before we--" Ianto swallowed a lump in his throat and tried to control his rapidly increasing heart rate as Jack looked at him. He could feel the heat of the Older man's eyes burn through him and looked away, removing his hand. “Before it gets dark.”

 

“It's half past two in the afternoon.”

 

“There's a lot of field left to search.”

 

Ianto stood up and walked away to where he had ceased searching earlier and Jack followed, pressing up against his back. Ianto stood still, feeling almost paralytic, somehow unable to move away from the warmth of him. The Captain let his lips brush the younger man's ear and trailed his fingers lightly over his skin.

 

“You shouldn't care so much what other people think.”

 

“I don't,” Ianto breathed, looking down at the fingers that ran over the buttons on his waistcoat, unfastening it slowly. “What are you doing?”

 

“It's hot; you must be warm in all those layers.”

 

“I'm fine.”

 

“You’re not.” Jack touched Ianto's neck with his lips, pressing a kiss into his skin. “You're burning up.”

 

“Do I even need to point out to you that this is far beyond acceptable levels of sexual harassment?”

 

“Do you see an office?” Jack asked. “I see no office.”

 

"I--" Ianto opened his mouth to speak and looked around, feeling Jack's hand slide up his chest, between his open waistcoat, and onto his neck, unfastening his top button. “Well no but--”

 

“Besides, it's only sexual harassment if you don't enjoy it. I looked it up.”

 

“And how do you know that I enjoy it?”

 

“If you didn't then you would have moved by now,” he whispered. "And you certainly wouldn't be as hard as you are.”

 

Ianto turned around and looked Jack in the eyes. “This is not the time to try and seduce me.”

 

“And you're saying that there will be a time?” Jack asked. “Because you look great in tweed and we're sharing a bed tonight.”

 

“Try anything and you're on the floor.”

 

“And you said you weren't kinky,” he teased.

 

“I mean it,” Ianto warned, his eyes dark. "Just stop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments greatly appreciated


	6. Alternative arrangements

Ianto made his way across the living room and headed towards the window, slumping down in a hard wooden chair. The windows were ancient and chipped at the edges, the old white paint was faded and the glass rattled in the gentle wind. The view was dark and without the city lights he was used to Ianto could see nothing other than the courtyard, his eyes focussed on Spike, the slightly chubby ginger cat that cleaned himself in the centre of the yard. 

Jack caught his eye as he passed by, shoving his hands into his pockets as he braved the cold weather; he stopped for a moment and locked his eyes on the younger man, gazing at him so intensely that he was forced to look away. Jack had looked at him that way throughout dinner, glancing up from him when he ate and piercing his eyes into his soul over the rim of his glass Every look seemed to be directed at him and by the end of dinner he found himself sitting there, opposite the older man, hard as a rock and trying to hide it.

Ianto was dreading going to bed. He didn't want to lie there beside him, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest, or the beautifully sculptured arc of his back as it clung to the sheets in the heat of the night. For a moment the thought of him made him consider following him into the barn, but he didn't see how pressing him up against the back of the barn, spreading him like butter and fucking him senseless would really help to solve any of their problems.

“Hi.” Gwen's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked over the room as she hobbled over to see him. "I've not seen you all day."

"We've been out searching for the device."

Gwen smiled at him and sat down on the arm of the chair, putting her hand on his shoulder to steady herself. He looked hot and flushed, even though the weather was cold; his waistcoat was fully open and only three of his shirt buttons were fastened, just covering his chest. He had even removed his socks and his hair looked like he had been dragged through a bush backwards. 

“You're stressed,” she said. “I can tell.”

“How?”

“You're a mess. You're only a mess when you're stressed."

Ianto let a hint of a smile cross his lips. “I'm fine.” 

"Yeah, you look it." Gwen chuckled and put her arm around him, dragging his resistant body over to her for comfort.

“How are you holding up?”

“Wonderful,” she droned sarcastically. “I really enjoy feeling like a damsel in bloody distress."

“What?”

“She told me I look like a man in my clothes and said that tomorrow I can borrow one of her dresses."

"A dress?" Ianto laughed a little. "You'll look nice in a dress."

“Please just tell me you found it so that I can go home.”

“No sign yet."

“Maybe you'll find it tomorrow.”

“Maybe.” Ianto looked back out of the window and squinted to look at Jack as he disappeared into the barn. “I don't fancy our chances, though."

“Don't say that. You're meant to tell me that it's just a matter of time and that we will be home before we know it.”

“Sorry.” He gave Gwen an apologetic look. "It's just a matter of time and we'll be home before we know it."

“What happened today?” she asked. “You and Jack went out and when you got back you looked like a bulldog chewing a wasp and Jack won't stop glaring. I saw you two at dinner, it looked like some kind of staring contest over the mashed potato.”

“We had words,” he explained. “Things were said.”

“You had a fight?”

“It's complicated.”

“Do you want to--”

“I don't want to talk about it.” Ianto said, moving away from Gwen and returning to staring out of the window. "That won't help anything." 

A silence fell between them for a while as they both looked out of the window at the foreign world that they had found themselves in. For a moment they could almost trick themselves into believing that they were on a break at a rural getaway, but it was no use lying and the reality of the situation hit them again. The clock struck eleven and Ianto raised his eyes to the face of the clock on the mantle.

Gwen pushed herself up from the chair arm and attempted to stand up. “I think I'm going to head off to bed.”

“Can you manage?” he asked, standing up to help her steady herself.

“I'm fine, but a little help wouldn't go amiss.”

Ianto put one arm around her waist and let her lean on him as she limped in the direction of the stairs. When she got to the bottom she looked up at all the steps and took a deep breath.

“Somehow I think that going up is going to be a lot more work than coming down.” She chuckled. “Care to offer me a piggyback like a gentleman?”

“Sure."

“I was joking!” Gwen chuckled, starting to make her way up the first step.

* * *

“Did you and Mr. Jones enjoy your constitutional this afternoon Captain?” Mr Hughes walked up to Jack who stood in the barn stroking the nose of the same horse that had tried to eat him the evening before.

“Fine thank you.”

“Did you go far?”

“Not too far. Far enough to enjoy the view, but not too far to get lost.”

“You could never get lost out here,” he said. You would reach the village eventually and they're very friendly around here.”

"No thanks. I'm a little wary of villagers of late. Bad experiences.”

“You wouldn't have any bad experiences here Captain, trust me.”

“I believe you.”

“Maybe tomorrow you could take Snow out for a while,” Mr. Hughes suggested, running his hand along the side of the horse. “You seem to have taken a shining to him and he hasn't had nearly enough exercise recently.”

“He's a beautiful stallion,” Jack said. "Gorgeous coat, but I'm not much of a rider."

“We used to have more but we had to sell them on, I couldn't afford to keep them all.”

“But not this one?”

“Iris would have me shot,” he chuckled. "She loves this horse. Sometimes I swear she loves it almost as much as I love her."

"I doubt that." 

“My daughter is a very beautiful girl, Captain. Don't you agree?”

“Absolutely. She's quite the beauty.”

“She's just like her namesake to me: precious, beautiful and innocent.”

“And you want to make sure that she remains that way.”

“Yes.”

“I can assure you that neither Ianto, nor myself, will even attempt to lead her astray. We won't be here long enough for that and even if we were we wouldn't even dream of it.”

“I trust my daughter Capitan, she's a very smart girl, but she's very impressionable and has taken a liking to all of you.”

“Say no more,” Jack said. “We understand each other completely. Consider me warned off.”

“You should go to bed and get some sleep. That fence in the far paddock needs fixing and you'll need to start straight after breakfast.”

* * *

Ianto carried Gwen through the bedroom door and sat her down on the bed. She had started to climb the stairs on her own but halfway up Ianto had taken pity on her and carried her the rest of the way.

“Thanks Ianto,” Gwen said, removing her shoes and he perched on the bed beside her. "You're a real gent, you'll fit into this time really well. 

“No problem. Although don't think that you're getting this kind of treatment every night; this was a one time deal.”

“I should be better in a few days.”

“You can't start walking properly until we find the devices,” Ianto reminded her. “We can only stay here as long as you're injured.”

“How long do you think I'll have to do this for? There's only so long that you can milk a sprained ankle.”

“Until we find it.”

“And what if we don't?” she asked, looking over at Ianto. “What if, just for arguments sake, we don't find it and the others can't bring us back. What then?”

“I suppose we're stuck here. There's nothing else we can do but build a life and get on with it.”

“That's easy enough for you to say,” Gwen said, standing up and hobbling over to the mirror. She put her hand on her face and touched her skin. “You're the right sex.”

“What do you mean?”

“All that I have heard all day is Jack and Mr. Hughes speak about me like don't have my own bloody mind. It's easy for you."

"How?"

" You can go out, find a girl, fall in love and have a life together. I'm nothing but a bloody ornament here, I may as well not have a brain or thoughts of my own. I can't even vote for God's sake."

Ianto walked over and leant on the wall, looking at her as she watched herself in the mirror. “You have Jack and you have me; we'll look after you.”

“That's exactly the point Ianto. I can look after myself.”

“It's a different world.”

“I'm fully aware of that thank you,” Gwen spat and then sighed, looking up at him. “I'm sorry, Ianto.”

“It'll be fine. I promise that whatever happens I'll be here and I'll look after you even if it means that I let you think that it's actually the other way around.”

“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” She asked, closing the gap between them a little, “Marry me?”

“I could.”

“You don't love me, Ianto." She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight . “It's very sweet though."

“Maybe I could learn,” he said. "Maybe we could even be happy in time." 

“You can't learn to love someone Ianto.” Gwen looked up at him. “Why would you even suggest it?”

“I don't want you to end up with some chauvinist pig, and considering it's 1901 it's more than likely that it'll happen.”

“Then I'll be alone and I'll be fine.”

“I wouldn't." 

"You have Jack."

"Jack isn't going to stick around, he's going to go off somewhere and find something exciting to do. I would much rather be with you than be alone. it's a lot less scary than the other options.”

“As true as that is, you can't live a life with someone you don't love Ianto.”

“Maybe I could,” he said. "I could try.”

“You could never do that."

"Why not?" 

"I know you. Your heart is too full with feelings for someone else to ever think about loving me." 

“Lisa is dead.”

“I'm not talking about Lisa.” 

Gwen locked her eyes onto Ianto's gaze; it took him a moment of firm starring to get what she was trying to say. 

"Gwen--"

"You're just scared because in this world what you want is seen so differently. "

"It's nothing!" he said, pushing Gwen away to arms length. "It's casual flirtation, it means nothing."

"I've seen the way you look at him and the way he looks at you."

"You don't know anything."

"I know that your mind is so full of him that you couldn't possibly think of anyone else."

“That's not true.”

“Yes it is.” She closed the gap between them again and put her hands on Ianto's cheeks. "I love Rhys and you love Jack.

“If I was with you I would be far too busy with you to think of anyone else, even Jack.”

“That's a lie.” 

"It's not." 

Gwen pulled Ianto's face down and pressed her lips against his, she felt her body move as he put his hands on her waist, pulling her close.

“Am I interrupting?” Jack's voice came from the doorway. “Do you two want some time alone?”

Gwen felt like she had frozen to the spot and Ianto removed his hands, looking at the older man who stood in the doorway.

“Shit." Ianto pushed Gwen away from his body and walked towards Jack. “This is not--”

“It's not what?” he asked, stepping into the room and shutting the door, looking at him with a glare so cold it hurt. “It's not what it looks like? It's not what I think?”

“It really isn't,” Gwen said. “Ianto and I were just--”

“Just what?” he challenged, watching Ianto who stood in silence whilst Gwen dropped down on the bed. 

“It was just a kiss,” Ianto said, moving towards him as he backed away. 

“You should have said, you two could have had the double bed.”

“Jack--”

“That way you could lock the door and fuck each others brains out.” Jack opened the door again and walked out, closing it behind him. 

“Jack--” The sound of Ianto's voice was drowned out by the slamming of the door.

He stared at the door for a while after he left as though he expected Jack to come back and covered his lips with his fingers.

“You were thinking of him." 

"Why does it matter? He turned around to face her but refused to meet her gaze. 

“I knew you would." 

"You've ruined everything." 

"Ianto--"

"Why did you do that?" 

'I Just thought--"

"Well don't bloody think!"

Ianto walked out the door, slamming it it behind him. He walked down the hallway and stood outside the bedroom door and stared at it. He put his hand on the doorknob for a moment before removing it; he didn't know whether he could face him.

* * *

It took Ianto a full hour before he had the strength to walk into the bedroom to face Jack.

After spending ten minutes with his hand on the doorknob and no nerve to go inside, he had gone for a walk in his bare feet across the darkened courtyard; it had proved to be a bad idea. Spike, the not-so-friendly family cat, had allowed him to sit on the ground stroking him for a while before scratching his hand, hissing and darting off towards the barn. Not that Ianto blamed him, he wasn't really paying much attention to the podgy moggy and stroked it's coat aimlessly as he stared up at the bedroom window. Spike simply got sick of playing second fiddle to a window, and left.

So, a while later, with his feet blackened, his skin cold and his hand covered in deep red scratches he returned to the house, climbed the stairs and looked at the large oak door once more. He took a deep breath and finally made the decision to go inside, closing the door quietly. He could see Jack lying in bed, the thin sheet draped over the his shirtless torso, his eyes closed, his breathing calm.

“Jack?” He walked over to the other side of the bed and crouched down, looking at him as he slept. “Jack are you sleeping?” he asked.

When he got no reply, Ianto put his hand on Jack's face and swept his hair away from his eyes, looking at him for a while. He looked peaceful and so much calmer than he had earlier in the evening. He let his hand drift down to Jack's lips, allowing his fingertips brush against the soft skin. Ianto dropped down to his knees and moved his lips closer to Jack as he slept, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

Leaning back on his blackened heels, Ianto let his hand slowly fall from the Jack's face. He watched him for a moment, praying that he wouldn't wake, and sighed a little. He considered waking him just to say his piece, to tell him what he had been rehearsing for the past hour in his mind, but thought better of it; some things were better left unsaid.

Quietly, he stood up and walked over to his side of the bed and removing everything but his underwear. He draped the clothing over the chair and pulled back the sheet, preparing to climb into bed without waking him.

“It's late,” Jack whispered without moving. “Where did you go?”


	7. Can't feel love

It was late and the bedroom was quiet. Ianto stayed still, his head dropped against his chest, trying to ignore the question that hung in the air between them. 

"I asked you where you went." Jack's words were quiet. "You were gone over an hour."

“For a walk.”

“Long walk."

“I needed it. I had to clear my head.”

“Did you manage it?” he asked, finally sitting on the edge. Jack watched him from across the darkness, the taste of his kiss still on his lips.

“No."

"Why?"

"There's too much going on in there," he admitted quietly. "Too many thoughts.”

“Why didn't you tell me about you and Gwen?” Jack asked, pushing himself off the bed to walk towards him. He could barely see Ianto in the dark, all he could make out was a figure standing in the room. "Is it just comfort, or is there more to it than that? Was she there for you when I wasn't?"

“There's nothing to tell.”

“You kissed her,” Jack said, his voice cracking. “You were in her room and you were kissing her. It seems to me that there's definitely something to tell.”

“She kissed me.” Ianto could hear Jack laugh harshly from across the room, but he seemed to be getting closer. "I didn't initiate it." 

“You certainly didn't seem to fight it. I would say it even looked like you were enjoying it.”

“I don't feel anything for her, it's not like that.”

“That's real funny,” Jack said, his voice getting closer until Ianto could finally see him, just feet away. “Because generally I only shove my tongue down someone's throat when I feel something for them. Even if that feeling is lust.”

“She was scared, I was scared. My mind was on other things and I wasn't even thinking about her.” He explained.

“Then what were you thinking about?” 

“I don't--” Ianto stuttered and licked his lips, but tried to sound confident. “I can't remember.”

Jack closed the gap between them until their bodies were touching. “Were you thinking about me?”

The heat of Jack's breath hit Ianto's neck as he leaned in to speak into his ear. It wasn't until Jack touched his face softly, running his fingertips across his lips, that Ianto realised he had closed his eyes the moment they had touched.

“When you were kissing her, did you wish it was me?”

“Jack--”

“Did you think about me, about my fingers on your skin, or my breath on your neck?” Before Ianto could reply, Jack put his hands on the younger man's stomach and pushed him gently until he felt his back pressing against the wall. “Tell me that you were thinking about me.”

“No.” His tone was stern, but his voice shook and broke at the Jack's touch.

“You kissed me. You thought that I was sleeping and you kissed me.” His lips brushed against the younger man's ear and he felt his breathing quicken in pace. "I felt it."

“You're mistaken.”

“You kissed me.”

“You don't always need a reason to kiss someone Jack, haven't you ever kissed someone without thinking?”

“No. When I kiss someone I know exactly what I'm doing.”

“You can kiss someone and not feel anything,” Ianto said. He swallowed a nervous lump in his throat and felt the heat of Jack's body as he held him firmly against the wall. He could feel Jack's erection pressing into him as he pulled Ianto's hips towards him.

“Can you feel that?” He whispered.

“I could hardly miss it, you're pressing into my thigh.”

Jack reached his hand towards the door and turned the key on the lock; the sound echoed through the room as it clicked into place.

“You say that you kissed her and felt nothing?” Jack asked. “Do you think that you could kiss me and feel nothing, too?”

"Do you want me to?" He looked at Jack in the darkness, close enough to see the heat in his eyes.

“That wasn't the question.”

“Do you really want that, Jack?” Ianto asked. “Do you really want us to go down that road where we have to talk about how we feel?”

“I'd rather talk about you and Gwen.”

“Why do you even care?"

"I just do." 

“I wasn't aware that it had anything to do with you who I kiss, or how I feel when I'm kissing them.”

Jack fell silent.

“You're just mad because she got to play with a toy that you wanted,” he said. “You want me and you can't bear that I don't want you, too.”

“But you do want me.” Jack looked directly into Ianto's eyes; he could barely see but he could feel the cold glare. “Every time I touch you I get a reaction."

"That's not true."

"Yes it is." He ran his hand between Ianto's legs and rubbed him through his underwear. “A big reaction.”

“And I didn't think you could get any more arrogant.”

“Kiss me.”

“What?” 

“Please.” Jack's voice softened. “Kiss me.”

Ianto opened his mouth to protest and looked into the older man's eyes, finding himself unable to say anything. The gaze that pierced into his eyes was deep and pleading; heavy and burning with something undefined. He swallowed a lump in his throat and licked his lips to stop them from drying.

“Why ask me now?” Ianto said, putting his hands on the older man's face. “Why here, in a place where it would make everything so much more difficult for us?”

“Haven't you ever wanted something that you were afraid to ask for?” Jack whispered. “I can't just walk away without asking this time. I've walked away too many times.”

“I don't feel anything for you.” Ianto said, his voice harshly cracking.

“Prove it,” Jack challenged. “Make it mean nothing.”

Ianto looked at Jack's lips, swollen and begging, slightly parted and close enough to taste. He could feel the heat of his breath on his lips, a sweetness seemed to radiate from them and draw him closer. The sight of the older man's tongue protruding out from between his lips, moistening them made Ianto lose composure, and with more eagerness than he expected he captured Jack's lips in a kiss.

Jack's lips were even softer than they looked, and tasted sweeter than he had imagined; his tongue darted into his mouth with a soft desperation and his hands spread over his body, creating a trail of heat over his skin. Ianto wrapped his fingers around the back of Jack's neck, pulling his lips towards him, deepening the kiss with an urgency he didn't know he possessed. The younger man nipped at Jack's lips and sucked on his tongue as his hands roamed his shirtless body; fingerprints burning into flesh.

Ianto pulled away for no other reason than a need for oxygen, and rested his forehead against Jack's. The older man looked at him, his mouth was open and gasping, his chest rising and falling trying to claim some air. His hands circled Ianto's neck gently, pulling him towards him for another kiss.

At first Ianto tried to pull away, but the heaviness of Jack against him and the heat of his fingers forced his body to give in long before he intended. He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in, letting his hands roam until they reached the soft material of his underwear. Ianto found himself pulling their hips closer, pressing his erection shamelessly into him. He felt as though he had been drugged by the heat of Jack's lips, or the feel of his body weighing him down; he didn't want to respond, but he kissed him back with every scrap of energy that he had. Jack groaned, and nipped at the younger man's lips as he kissed him hungrily.

Ianto gasped, opening his mouth in shock when he felt the Jack's hand wrap around his cock through the material of his boxers.

"Jack--"

Jack silenced his words with a kiss, waiting for him to surrender, then used his spare hand to cover his mouth. He kissed his Jaw, sucking in the rough skin and dragging his tongue along it.

“Don't make a sound.” Jack whispered a order at him, nipping at the younger man's earlobe for a moment. Slowly, he removed his hand from Ianto's mouth and let it fall to his neck, pushing him back gently against the cold wall.

Ianto craned his neck to the side as Jack sucked on his skin and buried his fingers in his hair, pulling him closer for a moment before dragging the older man's lips back to his own, devouring them desperately. He heard Jack moan painfully as he tugged at his hair forcefully, then felt himself being pushed back by his neck against the wall, struggling for control of the kiss.

Ianto yanked Jack's head to the side again and kissed his neck, sucking the skin hard enough to leave a mark. He could feel the Captain losing composure; he seemed to melt into his body, letting his head fall to the Welshman's shoulder and bite the skin softly. His hand wrapped around the back of Ianto's neck and he drew him in, planting kisses on the soft skin under his jaw. Ianto let his grip loosen from Jack's hair and it moved to his back, running his fingers over his shoulder blades as he nipped the skin on his neck.

Reality and logic tried to kick in when Jack's hands ran down Ianto's sides, but something pushed them to the side and replaced them with a burning passion that showed itself in the form of hungry kisses. He didn't feel Jack's hands as they yanked down his shorts, but pulled back sharply when he felt Jack's hand wrap around his cock, free from the confines of the material. 

He looked down; his underwear hung loose at his ankles and his cock was shamelessly erect in Jack's hand. His vision returned to the older man and he froze at the sight of the beautiful blue eyes that pierced through his gaze. He swallowed hard and blinked a few times before feeling his breath catch in his chest. Jack started to stroke him slowly, never removing his intense gaze; Ianto couldn't look away.

Ianto tried to gain some composure and look un-phased by Jack's touch, but his body betrayed him; a groan escaped his mouth as Jack quickened the pace and his hips started to move with the strokes of his hand. Ianto could sense the smallest hint of a smile tugging at Jack's lips as he watched him slowly surrender; he was enjoying making him squirm, it was turning him on.

His body seemed to resign to the touch and his head dropped back against the wall, exposing the length of his neck. Jack clasped his free hand over Ianto's open mouth to mask his groans and leaned into his ear.

“It's been a while,” he whispered, brushing his thumb over the head of his cock. Ianto moaned under the hand that covered his mouth. “Hasn't it?”

Ianto nodded slowly, pressing the palms of his hands against the wall to steady himself.

“Be quiet,” he said softly, removing his hand from Ianto's mouth. "We don't want any interruptions."

Jack dropped to his knees in front of the younger man, looking up at him as he continued to stroke him . His eyes stayed focussed on Ianto as he kissed his thigh, running his tongue over the skin, tasting him and teasing him at the same time 

Ianto's fingers spread flat out on the wall and held back his gasp when Jack's hot tongue landed on his cock, slowly flicking over the head before licking the shaft. He guided the length into his mouth, and sealed his lips around it, surrounding it in warmth. Putting one hand on Ianto's hip, Jack pulled him forward and took as much length as he could

Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked down at Jack, watching him as he sucked and licked him. He buried his hands in the the older man's hair, pushing him down onto his cock a little; Jack glanced up and locked his eyes onto Ianto's as he flicked the head with his tongue.

“Jack.” Ianto gasped squeezing his eyes shut again. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, biting his lip to stop him from moaning. “Jack stop. Please.”.

Jack looked up at him, and removed his mouth for a moment, continuing to stroke him. “That doesn’t feel good?”

“Too good.” Ianto moaned softly and started to pant, letting his head drop to the side.“Really Jack, you really do need to stop now.”

The older man ignored him and flicked his tongue over the head again, licking the underside of his cock until he could hear Ianto's breath catch and feel his body tense.

Ianto gasped and twisted his fingers in Jack's hair as he felt his body betray him and give in; the soft gasps escaped from his mouth and he found his chest rising and falling heavily. He felt his knees buckle, and held on to Jack's shoulders just to keep standing. His blood rushed through his veins and it felt as though his heart was going to beat out of his chest. He bucked his hips forward, thrusting his cock further into Jack's mouth and finally, after what seemed forever, the release came, emptying himself into Jack's hot waiting mouth. Jack swallowed every drop that was offered and looked up at Ianto, locking his eyes on the heavy gaze that watched him from above. He couldn't decide whether he was aroused, angry, or both. He licked his lips and rose to his feet, touching Ianto's face with his hands. He kissed Ianto's jaw softly and hovered his lips above his ear.

“You taste sweeter than I thought you would,” he whispered. “And I thought about it so many times.”

Ianto closed his eyes, basking in the sensation of hot breath in his ear; he leaned into Jack, running his hands up his back. He felt the soft sculpted muscle and caressed the skin with his fingertips, casting a map of his body in his memory; an unforgetting touch.

Jack kissed his cheek, just beside his ear and smoothed the skin with his thumbs. “Sometimes you're all I can think about. I undress you with my eyes, burning away all those layers in my mind. Now that the vision of you is in my memory, I'm hooked; I'll never stop thinking about you.”

He pulled away slightly, holding the Welshman's head in his hands. Ianto looked at him and licked his lips, unable to tear his eyes away from the older man who seemed to be piercing his eyes with his gaze.

“I don't care,” Ianto said, so weakly that even he knew it wasn't true. “I don't want it.” 

“You don't want to,” Jack whispered, his breath tickling Ianto's lips as he spoke. “But you do and that's okay.”

Before Ianto could speak again Jack stopped him, covering his mouth with his lips. He kissed him, drawing him closer with his hand on his neck.

Ianto could still taste himself in Jack's mouth, and feel the heat of his lips on his skin. He ran his hands down jack’s back and pulled at the waistband of his boxers, yanking them down. He pushed him towards the bed a little more roughly than he wanted, hungrily nipping at Jack's lips and taking his tongue into his mouth.

Jack pulled away from his lips, gasping for air, but found a strong hand on his neck pulling him back into another intense kiss. Ianto's hands caressed his skin, touching everywhere that he could, reaching his hand around to Jack's cock. He started to stroke his length and Jack found himself moan into his mouth, gripping onto his shoulders. He let Ianto manoeuvre him onto the bed and pin his hands at his side

“Do you want this Jack?” he breathed, lowering his mouth to his ear.

“Please.” 

“Say it again.” Ianto was sure that Jack had just used that word, but he needed to hear it again. “Beg for it.”

“Please.”

“Would you enjoy that Jack?” Ianto asked, pressing down on his wrists until the skin turned white.

“Oh yeah.”

“Immagine it, burn it into your memory because it will never happen.” 

Jack tried to move, but Ianto thrust his hands back onto the bed, pressing a loving kiss against his lips. 

“Ianto--”

"It can't happen."

Jack tried to speak, but Ianto beat him to it.

“You mean nothing to me.” he spoke, holding Jack down against the bed. “I can't let you."

Finally, Ianto let go and moved away, putting his trousers back on and slipping his shirt over his arms. He headed for the door and reached for the handle.

“Don't go,” Jack pleaded, putting his hand over the Welshman’s fingers.. He rested his forehead against Ianto’s back and wrapped his arm around him, holding his hand against his chest. He kissed his back softly. “Please don't leave like this.”

“I can't stay here tonight Jack, I'm sorry.”

“And where exactly are you going to go?” Jack asked, his voice breaking.

“For a another walk.”

“Are you coming back?”

“I don't have a choice, do i?”

“Then stay,” Jack requested, feeling Ianto's hand as it wrapped around the arm that held him, caressing the skin. “Come to bed.”

“No,” Ianto said weakly, his voice shaking. “I can't just go to bed with you lying beside me. I can't pretend that everything is okay.”

“But it is going to be okay,” Jack whispered. “I promise you that everything will be okay.”

“I don’t see how it can be.”

“We’ll make it.”

“There’s some things even you can’t fix.” Ianto shrugged Jack away and opened the door, turning around when he felt him follow. He put his hand on Jack’s cheek, pressing a kiss against his lips. “Please don't follow me.”


	8. Truth

"Tosh!" Owen called her name, shaking her shoulder to drag her away from sleep.. "Tosh, wakey, wakey, rise and shine."

"Hmm?" She lifted her head from the desk. "Did I fall asleep."

"About twenty minutes ago," he said, peeling the yellow post it note from her cheek. "You're starting to dribble on the keyboard." 

"Sorry."

" I made you some tea. I tried coffee but ianto's Machine looks more like something we dredged out of the bay." 

"Thanks." Tosh smiled and took a drink. "What time is it?"

"One o'clock," he said. "We're burning the night oil until it runs out."

"Did you find anything in Suzie's files?"

"Not yet, What about Jack's signal?"

"Nothing yet. I've set some systems up to check every frequency in case it's operating on another level."

"Alright." Owen picked a pile of files up and put them on her desk, then split them in two. "These are the rest of Suzie's files - we'll each take half home, look them over, sleep a bit and meet back here tomorrow." 

"I'd rather just stay here." 

"You need a break from this place." Owen picked up her jacket and handed it to her. "I'll take you home." 

"I don't really want to be on my own, at least here I have myfanwy for company."

"Then you're coming home with me." Taking her hand, Owen pulled her to her feet, pressing a few buttons to shut down the computer system. "We'll have a drink, look over these files and get our heads down for a few."

"You don't have to." 

"Well I can't stand to stay a minute longer in this place and you don't want to be on your own, so you're coming with me."

"Maybe it will be better to have a change of scenery." Tosh started to pack some things into her bag, then followed Owen into the lift. 

"If you play your cards right I might even make you breakfast."

* * *

Owen knocked back the remainder of whiskey in his glass; it was far too early to be drinking, well past three in the morning, but the warmth of the alcohol was the only thing keeping him awake. He looked over towards Tosh who sat beside him on his couch, her legs tucked underneath herself as she read through another file. 

"What do you think they're doing right now?" He asked. "Do you think they're trying to get back, or just waiting for us to make a breakthrough?" 

"Who knows." Tosh yawned, stretching out like a cat. "The universe is a crazy thing, they could. Be anywhere doing anything. What if they're not even alive?"

"They are." Owen touched her hand reassuringly. 

"We could do this forever and find nothing that will help." She threw the file back on the coffee table, then picked up another.

"We'll get them back. Until then it's just you and me and if we don't kill each other, we'll figure it out."

"You're being nice to me." Tosh smiled. "You haven't been nice to me in a long time"

"What do you mean,? I'm always nice." 

"No you're not. In fact sometimes, you can be quite cruel." 

"What?" Owen looked genuinely shocked, putting the file down beside him to look at her. "When have I been cruel?"

"Some of the things you say--"

"I'm joking! I thought you could take it, y'know banter and all that?" 

"When I had that pendant, I heard what you think of me, what Gwen thinks of me and it was awful." Tosh sighed, concentrating her eyes back to the file, scanning the information before turning a page over. "Just sitting there, listening to people think horrible things about you."

"Like you never think horrible things about me once in a while?" 

"It's just hard sometimes. Right now I don't need an alien pendant to know who you would rather be stuck here with."

"What?" Owen closed his eyes and shook his head' his brow knitting together out of confusion. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Gwen. I know you would rather it was her here."

"That's bollocks!." 

"Is it?" 

"I'm glad it's you I'm here with, because I know that we have the best chance of fixing it with you here. What Gwen going to do? Emotionally blackmail the rift into spitting them back out?" 

"She always seems to be better at me at everything."

"Well, she's not." Owen stood up, climbing over Toshiko's legs to get out of the couch. "I'm going for a shower, when you're finished sprouting complete bollocks you can take my bed. Maybe when you wake up you'll speak more sense."

* * *

Ianto groaned and opened his eyes. Whatever it was that had awoken him had done so by sitting on his chest, and it was heavy, too heavy to ignore anyway. A loud meowing reverberated around the stone walls of the building and he finally sat up, looking down at Spike who meowed again and sat on the scratchy hay looking expectant.

He looked around and squinted, the sunlight broke through the door, creating a single beam of blinding light in the dark room. The building was freezing cold, and made completely of stone, with large wooden doors and a high roof that made every sound echo. It was empty, save for a scattering of old hay and a few empty wooden crates.

He reached down and put his hand on Spike's head, stroking the fur behind his ears, making him purr; the cat lay down on the floor and stretched out lazily. His claws spread out and he closed his eyes, yawning wide and licking his teeth..

The door opened, squeaking on the old rusted hinges and Iris appeared in the doorway. She opened one door wide, letting the morning light stream in and walked over to him. Ianto shaded his eyes from the new intruding daylight and moved back into the shadows a little.

“Mr Jones?” She looked at him with intrigue and crossed her arms. “What on earth are you doing?”

Ianto covered his eyes and moved back even more, hiding from the light as much as he could. “Waking up,” he said groggily.

“You've slept in here all night?”

“Mostly.”

“Why?”

“It's hard to explain,” he said.

“You and the Captain had a disagreement.” Iris looked down at Ianto. “I heard you arguing last night.”

“What did you hear?” Ianto was suddenly scared, but surely if she had heard what she shouldn't have the look on her face wouldn't have been so kind.

“Not much. I just heard you storm out of the room and down the stairs. If i had known that you were going to sleep rough then I would have at least offered you a blanket.” She took her shawl from her shoulders and draped it over Ianto's back. “You shouldn't have slept here. You're recovering from a concussion and you're sure to get sick.”

“Thank you.”

“I haven't been in here for months." Iris sat down beside him and tucked her knees to her chest, casting her eyes around the tall building. “Not since we sold the horses. It's the old stable.”

“It doesn't look like a stable.”

“We took down the walls to use it as a store.”

“Not much stored in here,” Ianto said looking around the bare room. “Looks a little empty.” He looked up at the roof and at the hole that let the rainwater trickle through. “And derelict.”

“Things don't always work out as you hope them to.” She smiled, a gentle smile that didn't reach her eyes and sighed heavily. “It's funny that I should find you in here. This is where my brother always used to hide when he didn't want to be found.”

“It was the closest thing nearby when it started to rain.” Ianto shrugged. “It looked dry and that was good enough for me.”

They sat in silence for a while, neither really knowing what to say and then, out of the blue, Iris turned her body to face him and rested her elbows on her knees. She rested her chin in the palms of her hand and studied the Welshman.

“You're rather good looking you know,” she said, “quite the handsome kind Mr. Jones if you don't mind me saying so.”

“No, of course not.” Ianto blushed a little; half out of panic, and the other half out of bashfulness. “It's nice to hear actually, it's just that I'm not--”

“Not what?” she smiled weakly as she looked down at Ianto's grubby feet that seemed to have hay stuck to it.

"Well--" Ianto opened his mouth to speak. “I know that you may think that I'm--”

“Don't take that the wrong way,” Iris said quickly, cutting his sentence off before he could complete it. “I'm not showing my interest in you. I was just wondering something.”

“Wondering what?”

“You're quite the handsome gentleman, you seem rather kind and from what I know you're a nice natured man. So how is it that you travel with the Captain and Miss Cooper?”

“What do you mean?”

“Aren't you married. Don't you have a someone to miss you?” she asked.

“I did,” he said sadly, pulling the shawl around his shoulders to keep himself warm. “Her name was Lisa, but she passed away.”

“I'm sorry, i wouldn't have mentioned it if I had known.” Iris froze for a while, and then licked her lips before focussing her gaze on the Welshman. “Do you mind me asking what happened to her?”

“I guess you could say that she lost her mind.”

“That's terrible, I'm sorry.”

“Really?” she asked with the tiniest hint of a smile. “I didn't know that it was you that killed her.” Ianto said, watching Iris as she picked up Spike and let him stretch out lazily across her lap. “I have one rule; never apologise for things that you aren't responsible for. There's no good in pointing fingers in an empty room, that's what my mother always said.”

A deadly silence filled the old stone building again, and just for a second it almost seemed to cling to the air and then echo around the walls.

“Did Spike do that?” Iris said suddenly, pointing to the deep scratches on Ianto's hand.

“Yes.”

“He's a grumpy old man,” she said, tickling the cat under his chin, “but I wouldn't have him any other way.”

“I'd have him without claws,” the Welshman muttered.

Iris chuckled and stroked a purring Spike on her lap. “Do you keep animals?”

“I have a fish,” Ianto said. “He's called fish.”

“You have a fish called fish?”

“It's self-explanatory,” he explained, “I'm a man of very few words.”

“You're a man of few words and the Captain is a man of many, usually unnecessary and tinged with a degree of flirtation.”

“That's a very accurate observation.”

"Well, can't sit here all day." Iris pulled herself to her feet and dusted off her skirt. “I must go and start breakfast, will you be joining me?”

“No. I think I'll just sit here and think for a while if you don't mind.”

“Of course not.”

“And if you speak to Jack, you haven't seen me.”

Iris nodded in understanding and left.

* * *

Gwen sat outside on the old wooden bench and looked out on the rain from the shelter of the porch. It had been a long night and her lack of sleep had made it seem even longer; now it was just past six-thirty in the morning and she had watched the rain fall for the second consecutive hour. She heard the padding of bare feet on the stone behind her and then a firm hand cup her shoulder.

“It's funny how rain in the twentieth century looks just the same as it does in the twenty-first.” Jack walked around in front of her and took a seat on the other side of the bench. “Miserable, cold and wet.”

“I suppose some things never change.”

“Most things don't,” he said, leaning back and watching the grey sky as the clouds gathered. “Faces and scenery come and go, but a lot of the things we love remain static. It's fantastic. Not like people, people constantly change.”

“You say that like people don't matter.”

“People are unpredictable, you never know where you stand, but in Wales it will always rain.”

“This isn't about the rain, Jack.”

“I didn't say it was about the rain.”

“It's about Ianto.”

“It's not.” Jack's answer was a little too quick and Gwen covered his knee with her hand.

“Yes it is.”

“Well, not just Ianto.”

“I take it that you two didn't sort things out then.”

“I thought we had, I really did.”

“But--”

“I thought you would know all about it.” His voice was a little harsher than he had meant it. “I'm sure he told you all about it last night.”

“Last night?”

Jack turned to face her. “When he ran to you and probably told you everything.”

“I haven't seen him since he went after you last night; he didn't come back after that.” Gwen narrowed her eyes and shifted closer to the older man, who now had a confused look on his face. “Whatever you think is going on between me and Ianto is all in your head, Jack. I love Rhys."

“then where did he go and where the hell is he now?”

“I don't know, but he wasn't with me. I share a room with iris, no man was getting within a mile of that door."

"Yeah." Jack stood up and started to walk away before turning back. “I'm sorry. I kind of jumped to conclusions.”

“Yes you did.”

“I was wrong.”

“Very."

“And you're going to make me suffer, aren't you?” he asked.

Gwen got up and hobbled her way over to Jack, holding onto him for balance. “You need to go and find him and make the first move to apologise. You're as stubborn as each other and one of you has to take the first step to sort things out."

"This isn't exclusively my fault."

"You can't go on like this, or you and Ianto are going to end up ruining what friendship you have for nothing and we need to stick together here. You two are all I have."

* * *

“Have you seen Ianto?” Jack asked. He put his foot up on the chair and fastened his boot as Iris walked in the kitchen from outside.

“No, sir.”

Jack looked at her as he tightened his laces and smiled lightly before straightening his trousers over his boots. “If you see him would you let him know that I need to speak to him as soon as possible?”

“Certainly sir, if I see him I will absolutely let him know.”

"Thank you." Jack walked past her, putting his hand on the door handle, and the young woman touched his arm lightly. 

“I have not seen his this morning.”

“Okay.”

“No, I mean--” Iris took a deep breath and looked directly into Jack's eyes as she spoke. “When I was walking I did not see him. I certainly did not see him in the old stables in the paddock.”

“Okay--”

“Not sleeping rough,” she added. "On the old hay with the cat.”

“I see.” Jack smiled. “Did he, by any chance, tell you that you should forget that you saw him?”

“I couldn't possibly betray his trust sir,” Iris smiled, turning and pouring two cups of tea into old tin cups. “When a man tells you that you haven't seen him you simply can't go around telling people that you have.” She handed Jack the tea. “Even if you think that his friend should go and apologise to him for whatever it is that he has done to make him find the cold stone stable more appealing than a warm comfortable bed for the night.”

“Thank you.”

“It's no bother, just as long as you do not mention the fact that I mentioned what he asked me specifically not to.”

“You didn't tell me anything,” Jack said making his way to the door.

Iris turned back to the stove and started to crack eggs into a pan of spitting fat. “And send him in for him breakfast will you, he's already risked a cold by sleeping out all night, I wouldn't want him to go hungry.”

"Will do." Jack laughed and put the tea down on the bench, walking up behind her. He took her hand and turned her around. “What would we do without you?”

“I dare say you would starve and eventually die Captain. After all that's what most men would do without a good woman to look after them.”

“And you certainly are a good woman,” Jack said, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Watch it." Iris blushed a little and rubbed her cheek. “Don't let my father see you kiss me like that, he'll have you out on your ear.”

“You wouldn't let him throw me out and you know it,"

“That all depends on whether you go and make it up with Mr. Jones sir.” Iris turned to look at him over her shoulder. “The poor boy is in that stable looking lost, like a stray little puppy.”

“But you do like strays Miss Hughes,” Jack smiled.

“I adore strays, just as long as they don't fight in my garden."

* * *

Jack made his way through the heavy downpour and towards the old stable across the far end of the yard. The cobbled stones were wet and on a few occasions he slipped and had to stop himself from falling; half of the tea in the old tin mugs had been splashed across the stones already and what was left was mixed in with rainwater. He opened the stable door and peeked into the darkness before stepping inside. It was cold, wet and dark; the only light came from the crack in the door and the odd hole in the roof where rain seeped through drop by drop.

Ianto turned and looked at the Captain as he walked in and then avoided his gaze. 

“You found me then.”

“It was kind of fun,” Jack said, edging towards the Welshman slowly. "There's nothing quite like a game of early twentieth century hide and seek to set you up for the day.” 

"We,, I'm glad you had fun." 

"I wouldn't call any of this fun." Jack looked down at him when he reached his side.“The old stable huh? Original, yet slightly cliché at the same time.”

“She told you.”

“Yeah,” Jack admitted, “what can I say; I charmed it out of her with my alluring smile and winning personality.”

“Sometimes I think it's impossible for you to take anything seriously.” Ianto tried not to smile as he played with the scattering of hay on the ground. 

“That's not true, I take most things very seriously indeed.” Jack sat down beside him on the ground next to Ianto, then handed him one of the old tin mugs. “It's not Coffee and it has rain in it, but it's hot.”

“Thank you.” Ianto's thanks was barely audible, but at least it was there, and as he took the cup from him he let his fingers brush against Jack's for a moment, pulling away quickly as though he had been burnt by his touch.

They took a few sips of tea in silence until Jack put his mug down on the stone floor.

“I was worried when you didn't come back last night.”

“I meant to, I really did.”

“Then why didn't you?”

“I had every intention of coming back.” Ianto avoided Jack's gaze. “But then it started to rain and I took cover in here with every intention of going back when it stopped, only it never did so I stayed here all night.”

“And that's the only reason?”

“I didn't say it was the only reason.”

“I think we need to talk.”

“I don't.” Ianto pulled himself to his feet and made his way to the door

“Right now is a really bad time for us to be fighting,” Jack said, following him and stopping him before he could walk out. “We should be sticking together and helping each other out, not avoiding each other and arguing.”

“You're the one who is arguing Jack,” he said. Ianto turned to face the older man and took a step in his direction. “You were the one who pushed me and pushed me until I had no option but to break.”

“I--”

“There's nothing going on between me and Gwen. It was a kiss and that's all.”

“We established that last night, this is way beyond that now.” He took another step towards the Welshman and set his gaze onto his eyes. “You told me that you felt nothing.”

“And?”

“And it was a lie.”

“I know.” Ianto let his eyes lock onto Jack's for a moment. “I'm sorry.”

“For what?” he asked. “For lying to me?"

““Lying to you is no problem for me. I have bigger secrets than this.”

“So what are you sorry for?”

Ianto opened his mouth to speak, but averted his eyes at the last moment and moved away. “I should go and change out of these clothes, Iris said I would get sick and I would hate to prove her right. I bet she's intolerable when she gets one over on you.”

“I think that it's more important for us to talk.”

“No. It's not.”

“Then let me rephrase it for you.” Jack stood behind him. “I need you to talk to me, I need to know why you wouldn't come back. And that means the actual reason, not some half-baked attempt at what you think would be easiest for me to understand.”

"Alright." 

"Now we're getting somewhere."

"I'll tell you." Ianto turned around and put his hands on Jack's coat, running his fingers down the lapels. “So, you want to know the honest reason why I didn't come back to bed last night?”

“Yes.”

Ianto pulled Jack closer to him by his coat; his hands gripping the thick wool until his knuckles turned white, dragging Jack's lips closer to his own and kissed him hard, his mouth crushing against the older man's. He slipped his hand around the back of Jack's neck, keeping him close, his fingers finding their way into his hair when he felt the Captain's hands grip his hips and draw them closer so that no space could pass between.

Ianto pulled away, panting, and pressed their heads together; he opened his eyes and set his gaze upon Jack. His eyes were darker than Jack had ever seen them, and his words were laced with a gravely husk 

“ Iris knows that we're in here together and the only reason I stopped kissing you now is that at any moment she could come in here and see us. But last night, if I had come back and you were awake?” Ianto's lips brushed Jack's as he spoke. “I would have kissed you again. The door would have been locked and we would have been there alone. Nothing could have stopped me touching you and II wouldn't have been able to let you go..”

“Is that really so bad?”

“Right now it's the worst thing that I can imagine.”

“Why?” Jack asked. “Why is a kiss such a big deal to you?”

“A kiss is not just a kiss Jack, not here and now. And you know why.”

“No. No actually, I don't.”

Ianto took a step back and finally removed Jack from his grip. 

“If we were back home and I felt this way then nothing could have stopped me, but this is a different time Jack; it's a whole different world.”

“Tell me why what we do behind locked doors here is any different to back home?”

“Because it is.”

“Why?”

“Do you even know what they do to people like us here?” Ianto asked, closing the gap between them again. 

"I know. I've been in far worse times than this."

“Then you know, Jack." He put his hand on Jack's face and trailed his thumb across his cheekbone. “You know that they're not so accepting in this time. You can't just live your life the way you want to here, especially not in such a small community.”

“But behind closed doors--”

“Nothing is behind closed doors forever.”

“Not forever,” Jack said. “Just until we find our way back.”

“And what if we don't?”

“We will.”

“But what if we don't, what then?” Ianto's voice was calm and low as though he was whispering and his eyes stayed fixed on Jack's. “Do we hide away and hope that nobody finds out about us, because you can't hide it forever. Someone will find out Jack, and then we're as good as dead.” His voice shook a little. “This thing between us has to stop before it really begins.”

“You're reading far too much into this,” Jack said, running his fingers across Ianto's lips. "You're in a place that you don't fully understand and you're just a little bit scared so you're over-thinking. I understand that.”

"No."

"Yes."

“I'm not over-thinking. I know exactly what would happen . They would lock us up and life would be finished,” he tried to move away but Jack was stronger and held his body close. “That life is not easy, it's hard graft that makes your hands bleed and life is downgraded to a mere existence full of shame; I can't live through that, it'll kill me Jack.”

“You know." Jack took a sudden step back and looked at Ianto; his mouth opened and closed without speech a few times until he finally found his voice. “You're not over thinking or fearing the worst, you actually know."

"Jack--"

"You're not out of your time here are you? You're slap bang in the middle of it.”

Ianto backed away and distanced himself from a shocked Jack who glared at him, demanding an answer. “I should go--”

“You can't.” Jack pulled him back from the doorway. “You have to explain this to me because I'm not understanding much of anything.”

“He promised me that I wouldn't have to live in this world again,” Ianto said. "He said I would be safe and now I'm not.”

“Who did?”

"I'm not safe, I'm right back in the worst place I could possibly be with the worst possible person I could ever be with. He broke his promises and now things couldn't be worse.”

“Who?”

“It doesn't matter,” the Welshman shook his head. "He doesn't matter any more, he's long gone.”

“Who?”

"Charles. He was my lover; he worked for Torchwood."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know how, I didn't know what you would do to me. Torchwood is all I have, everything else is fake, even my family is made up. I have nobody and it's all his fault." 

"What happened?"

" I was in hell, Jack. My existence was nothing. I had nothing, until one day I couldn't take it anymore, so I took a chance, I murdered someone who tried to stop me running because it was him or me. Then I didn't know what to do, I just made a run for it and I went back to Charlie and asked him to hide me so they could never find me. He helped me escape this time and promised this me he wouldn't be far behind, but he never came for me. He left me in a world I didn't understand, alone and scared, but I've never been more scared than I am right now.”

“Its ok.” Jack approached him and held his face in his hands.

"It's not! Right now there's a version of me locked away in a prison, for the crime of loving someone I shouldn't."

"But you're here with me and it's ok. Why are you so scared?”

“This year, it's the worst year of my existence. In three months I kill that guard and escape, I become a wanted man and if they find me, they'll hang me, Jack.”

"They're not going to find you. I'll get us home. I'll find a way.”

“Promise me,” Ianto demanded.

“I can't do that. But I'll keep you safe. I won't let anyone hurt you and that Is a promise." Jack pressed his forehead to Ianto's temple. “We just have to stick together and everything will be fine.” He kissed his lips gently. “Don't worry.”

“This doesn't change anything,” Ianto said. “I still can't be with you, not in this time.”

“And when we get back?”

Ianto returned Jack's soft kiss and raked his fingers through the Captain's hair for a moment before pulling away. “I still won't be able to control this; it's hard enough when I can walk away at the end of the day.”

Jack cupped Ianto's cheeks in his hands and pressed a kiss to his lips. He wrapped his arms around the younger man, pulling his head against his shoulder; his lips brushed against Ianto's ear. “I could probably handle all this if only I wasn't stuck here with you.”

“And we are stuck,” Ianto whispered, trailing his hands across Jack's back. “I can't think of anything worse.”

“You could be alone.”

“I don't even think that would be worse to be honest.” His smile was so faint it was barely there. 

“We should probably head back in.”

“Yeah.”

Jack ran his thumb across the back of Ianto's neck, feeling the soft skin beneath his fingertips; every fibre of his being was telling him to let go, but the fingers that caressed the Welshman's skin refused. He could feel the slow beating of the younger man's heart thump through his chest, and the heat of Ianto's breath on his neck was comfortable and warm; he didn't want to let go.

“They're probably starting to wonder where we've got to,” Jack said. “They'll be sending out a search party.”

“I know.” Ianto stepped back a little to break the embrace, only to find Jack's firm hands on the back of his neck, pulling him back. A soft kiss landed on his shoulder and a hot breath tickled his earlobe. He settled back into the comfort of Jack's arms and inhaled the familiar scent that never seemed to fade.

“We could wait until the rain stops,” Jack whispered, “just stay in here for a while.” He trailed his thumb across the back of Ianto's neck again and felt Ianto's hot breath exhale onto his cool neck. “It's warm and dry in here with you.”

“Out there--”

“I don't want to think about what's out there. I never get the chance to forget the world exists.”

"And you never will." Ianto sighed heavily and gripped onto Jack's shoulder. “Reality is the one thing that you can't run away from; i've tried too many times.”

The older man planted a small kiss on Ianto's neck and rested his warm lips on the cool skin. “I just wish we could hide from it. I'm sick of being the one who never gets to hide away once in a while.”

“Jack.” Ianto reached behind him and lifted the Captain's hand from his neck, lacing their fingers together by his side. “We really need to go.”

Ianto broke away from him and made his way towards the door, leaving Jack behind.

“I'll get us home,” Jack said.

“Let's hope so.” Ianto didn't turn back to face him. "I refuse to live through this life again."


	9. Breakfast in Two Centuries

The bedroom was cold at 6am in rural Wales; a lack of heating and the darkness of the world outside, with rain battering the sash windows, seemed to make lying under the warm blankets a much more appealing option than getting up. The three layers of bedclothes and a pair of cotton pyjamas were cosy though, and as Jack lay in bed pretending to sleep he wished he didn't have to get up so soon. In addition to all of that of course, there was the attraction of the gorgeous Welshman sprawled out over his chest.

 

Ianto had spent most of the night glued to the edge of the bed, keeping his distance, but at 5am he stirred and turned; now he was lying with one leg hooked over Jack's and his head buried in his chest, one of his hands had moving to rest on Jack's thigh. He could feel the roughness of the Welshman's three day stubble through the open pyjama jacket, scratching ever so slightly when he moved.

 

“Ianto?” he whispered.

 

The Welshman made an unrecognisable noise that fell halfway between a moan and a groan. He slipped his hand over Jack's chest, his fingers resting above his heart.

 

“Ianto?” Jack stroked his shoulder. “ Are you getting up?”

 

“Why?” he mumbled. “What time is it?”

 

“Six.”

 

“Wake me at seven.” Ianto snuggled further into him, nuzzling into his neck a little, his lips brushing against Jack's neck. “It’s too comfortable here. I'm not moving and you can't make me.”

 

Jack could feel Ianto's hand moving from his chest, slipping down slowly until it rreached his cock, erect and ready. 

 

"You're so warm." Ianto whispered, his breath heating Jacks skin. 

 

"What are you doing?" 

 

"Something I probably shouldn't." He pressed a kiss against the other man's neck. "Did you lock the door last night?"

 

"Yeah." Jack smiled a little. “Even though you said there was no reason to.”

 

“I did?”

 

"Yes, you did. Then you slept so far away from me you almost fell out of bed."

 

“Well, I don't remember saying that.” Ianto slipped his hand over the material of Jack’s pyjamas, stroking his length slowly. “Although it does sound like something I might say in this situation.”

 

Jack put his head back on the pillow and swallowed hard before closing his eyes and exhaling a long controlled breath. Ianto's hand was moving slowly across the fabric of His pyjamas, his lips deliberately brushing his neck, heating the skin with every breath.

 

Jack considered stopping it, but when Ianto's fingers slipped into the gap between the buttons and he changed his mind. He raked his fingers through the Welshman's hair, tightening his grip a little when he felt his hand stroke him; he bit his lip for a moment before shifting a little, pressing himself further into Ianto's willing hand. He could feel Ianto's lips against his neck as they curved slowly into a smile. 

 

“Ianto,” he whispered, his breath heavy. “You should probably stop.”

 

“Do you want me to stop?”

 

“No, but you probably should.”

 

"Probably."

 

Ianto shifted a little more, nuzzling Jack's neck as he slipped his leg further over his, pinning him a little with his weight. He kissed his neck, sucking the skin into his mouth a little, then kissed a trail of kisses that led to his ear. Jack moaned a little too loudly when Ianto's tongue came into contact with his earlobe, and the younger man stopped, pulling back to look at him for the first time that morning, his hand still keeping a steady rhythm.

 

"You're supposed to be quiet," he said, a slight smile tugging on his lips.

 

"If you want me to be quiet, you’re going the wrong way about it.” Jack closed his eyes again when Ianto picked up the pace a little, his head falling back onto the bed as he arched his neck.

 

"Complaining?"

 

"No." Jack's voice was barely audible. He licked his lips and moved his hand to cup Ianto's cheek, pulling him into a searing kiss, raising his hips off the bed to get closer to the younger man’s hand. His fingers gripped Ianto’s hair, keeping his close, moving away only to find his breath, lost between the heat of the kisses and the quickening of his pulse.

 

“Why aren't you stopping me?” Ianto's lips hovered precariously close, the warmth of his breath finding Jack’s mouth. “We had an agreement that we wouldn't let each other do things like this."

 

“I don't want you to.”

 

Ianto lowered his head, pressing a trail of kisses over his chest and down his stomach until he reached the waistband of his pyjamas. Releasing Jack from his touch, he pulled down the waistband before replacing his hand with the heat of his mouth. 

 

Jack’s hands found the bed, clinging onto the sheets as he focused on keeping quiet, hard rapid breaths escaping from his mouth. He closed his eyes again, concentrating on the warmth of the younger man’s lips as he felt the release. 

 

He collapsed down on the bed, taking a moment to recover his breath before grabbing the younger man’s hand and pulling him down into a kiss. Jack traced his fingers down Ianto’s jaw and felt the heat of his breath on his lips

 

“How are we going to sleep in the same bed If we keep doing things like this?" He asked. “We said we wouldn’t, but--”

 

"You let me get carried away." Ianto rolled over and lay beside him, covering his face with his hands. “It’s this place. There's nothing to keep me busy here, nothing to distract me. This is what happens when I don’t have an archive room to organise, or a coffee machine to work or a-- bloody Weevil to wrangle into a cell” 

 

“How long have you been distracting yourself?

 

“Since the day we met.” Ianto sighed. “It was okay at first; I had Lisa and then I was too busy to really do anything about it, but now?”

 

“It’s going to be alright, you know?” Jack rolled onto his side and stroked the Welshman’s cheek. “I know it might be the worst time possible, but it feels right."

 

"I'm making all the same mistakes all over again and part of me doesn't even care."

 

"I don't want to be a mistake."

 

"You're not, it's this place that is the mistake." Ianto turned to face him and pushed Jack's hair away from his face. "We should be in a different time, in a different bed and I shouldn't be scared.”

 

"I know.” Jack pushed him onto his back, propping himself up on his elbow to look at him, then kissed his lips softly, his fingers resting on his neck; he could feel his pulse underneath his fingers. “We’re going to work this out.”

 

"You're not helping,” Ianto said, his lips finding Jack’s again.

 

"You started it."

 

"I know."

 

"I don’t have the strength to stop you. This is the only time I get with you, in here with the door locked is the only place I can touch you like I want without consequences."

 

"There are still consequences, Jack."

 

"You're safe in here with me," he promised, his lips falling to his shoulder. He kissed the soft skin underneath his lips, tasting the slightly salted skin. 

 

"But I'm not safe out there." 

 

"If anyone tries to hurt you, they'll have to go through me first."

 

"That was almost romantic. " Ianto smiled a little; he could feel the other man’s lips curve into a smile against the skin of his neck, pressing a kiss just below his ear as he peppered his skin with lazy kisses.

 

"I have my moments." 

 

"Y'know, I _can_ look after myself."

 

"I know, I remember your right hook." Jack’s lips found his mouth again, kissing him softly. "There's something really attractive about a guy who can knock me off my feet." 

 

Ianto's hands raked through Jack's hair as their bodies moved closer, their hips finding a slow rhythm; soft moans were lost within mouths and hot breaths mingled together a little. Ianto couldn’t resist and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into the heat of his lips.

His fingers ran underneath his pyjama jacket, pushing it up his back, crumpling the fabric to get to the warm skin underneath.

 

A harsh knock on the door forced their lips apart and a soft female voice filtered through the wood. “Are you boys decent?”

 

“No.” Jack said calmly, touching Ianto's face as he stared at him with lustful eyes from above him. “Give us a minute.”

 

“Well don't be long, your hot water is cooling and the bowl is heavy.”

 

Jack ran his hand down Ianto's neck slowly and rested his fingers on his collarbone. “Someone really needs to teach that girl the importance of judging between good and bad timing.”

 

"It could be worse, it could've been five minutes ago." Ianto licked his lips nervously and swallowed a dry lump in his throat; he blinked quickly a few times before finding his voice through hard panting breaths. “What do we do now?”

 

“Go and open the door.”

 

“It's a bit hard for me at the moment.” Ianto pressed his erection into Jack’s thigh. “I don’t think shes ready to see that, do you?”

 

“Okay.” He kissed his lips softly. “We'll finish this later.” 

 

Jack stood up, fastened his pyjama jacket and made his way towards the door, giving Ianto some time to get under the sheets and straighten his pyjamas. He opened the door and looked at Iris as she walked in and placed a large bowl of water on a table at the furthest corner of the room.

 

“You two should get up,” she said. “It's past six.”

 

“I'm sorry. Six is early where we come from.” 

 

She walked over to the window and pulled open the curtains. Bright sunlight streamed through the window and the sound of birds filtered through when she pulled up the sash window open a little. 

 

“Some morning air is what you need to wake you up. Get some country air into those city lungs.”

 

“Goodmorning.” She looked at Ianto. “Sir, you look practically flustered.”

 

“Do I?” Ianto asked nervously.

 

“You look hot and bothered.” Iris sat down on the bed and put her hand on his forehead. “You feel a little warm, too. I do hope that fever isn't starting to set in.”

 

“I feel fine.”

 

“You're looking rather ragged.” A small smile crossed her lips, and barely reached the corner of her eyes before she lowered it. “And I don't mean that in a good way. You both need a shave.” 

 

“I don't have a razor,” he said, moving away a little.

 

“I'll get you one for this evening. We're expecting cousins for dinner tomorrow night and I couldn't possibly let them see our house guests looking like something we've scraped up off the streets.”

 

"Of course not."

 

"I should think you two will scrub up really well," she said, looking between the two of them. "I'd be careful if I were you, My cousin Beatrice is a modern kind of girl. London-bred. She's ruthless. You two should want to stick together to avoid her advances."

 

“If she's as beautiful as you I'm not sure we would want to,” Jack said.

 

"Mr. Jones?" Iris turned to face Ianto. “Do you suppose he thinks that his charm works on me?”

 

“Jack supposes his charm works on everyone,” he replied. “He expects every species to fall at his feet.”

 

“You're too confident for your own good. You should know that girls much prefer the quiet type.” 

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yes. Modesty is very attractive in a man, ego is not.”

 

She looked over at Ianto as she made her way towards the door. “I'll put you some bacon on; you liked that yesterday.” Turning to Jack, she let a smirk cross her lips. “You can have porridge.”

 

Iris left the room with a gentle swish of her dress and closed the door behind her.

 

“Oh,” Jack smirked. “Miss Iris _likes_ you.”

 

"“Or maybe she just finds you a little hard to take.” Ianto pulled the sheets back and got out of bed, making his way over to where his clothes had been laid out the evening before. 

 

Jack followed him over and wrapped his arms around his body, pulling him back; he lowered his lips to whisper in his ear. 

 

"Well, you certainly don't seem to have any problems in that department."

 

"That's inappropriate." Ianto smiled a little, leaning back against him as he unfastened his shirt, peeling it off his shoulders. 

 

"Considering how you behaved this morning, you have no place lecturing on appropriateness."

 

The door opened and they jumped apart, Jack swiftly removing his hand from Ianto's chest. 

 

'I forgot your towels."

 

"Thanks."

 

“Don’t be long, I have things to do after breakfast.” Iris handed them over and left, shutting the door behind her. 

 

"We should get dressed," Ianto said, moving further away from him. "And calm ourselves down before breakfast, because _that_ was far too close for my liking."

* * *

Tosh opened her eyes and rolled over in bed. The unfamiliar silky sheets were soft and luxurious and the scent of Owen’s aftershave clung to the pillow underneath her cheek. She got up, pulling the long t-shirt over her legs and walked into the kitchen, tucking her hair behind her ear. She stopped in the doorway and watched Owen as he flipped an egg over in the frying pan; she hadn’t forgotten his promise of breakfast, although she had fully expected a bowl of rice crispies being far more his level of hospitality.

 

"Morning."

 

"It's about time you got up." 

 

“You should’ve woken me.”

 

“I tried, you were out like a light.” he said, turning around to face her. 

 

“I must’ve needed it.”

 

“Now _that_ is an outfit you should definitely wear to the office." Owen’s eyes fell to Toshiko’s legs, the hem of his shirt cutting off at the top of her thigh. “Although I suspect nobody would get much work done if you did.” 

 

"Oh.” Tosh looked down at herself, pulling the hem down a little more as she felt her cheeks burning pink. “I should get dressed."

 

"Come here.” Owen walked over to her and put his hand on her waist, guiding her into the kitchen. He pulled out a stool for her and tapped the seat. “Sit down."

 

“I should--”

 

“Eat first, you've got nothing I haven't seen a thousand times.” Owen put a plate in front of her.

 

“You know how to flatter a woman.”

 

“Eat.” He smiled a little, sliding another egg onto her plate. “ 

 

"Thanks" 

 

"So, I was up pretty early this morning and I--” Owen felt his eyes falling onto Tosh’s legs as the shirt rode up a little exposing more of her thigh. “I went--"

 

“You went where?”

 

“I went to--” he searched for his words. “Shit.”

 

"What?" 

 

"Nothing.” Owen turned away from her, returning to the sink to wash up his dishes. “I got up early and went for a run to try and clear my head and I had a brainwave."

 

"It had to happen eventually I suppose." 

 

"Funny." 

 

"What was it?” Tosh smiled a little, leaning on the counter as she ate her breakfast.

 

"Ianto has a load of stuff from Torchwood one on his computer, I think we should see if there's anything on the device in his files. He said it was familiar, so maybe he's seen it somewhere before." 

 

"Good idea. I'm going to head back to the warehouse and take some up to date readings, then set up some rift monitors."

 

“Not without me you're not,” he said.

 

“What?” 

 

“Tosh.” He leaned on the counter in front of her. “I've already lost Jack, Ianto and Gwen, I'm not letting you bugger off through the rift, too. No, if you go we both go.” 

 

"Okay."

 

"I thought you would fight me more on that."

 

"No, you're right. We need to stick together." Tosh smiled a little. "And thanks for letting me stay."

 

"Don't mention it."

 

"And breakfast." 

 

"Dont get too used to it," Owen said. "That was a once in a lifetime deal."

 

"I'll return the favour one day," she promised. "Traditional Japanese."

 

"Are you planning on inviting me to stay?" 

 

"Well--" Tosh looked at him across the kitchen counter for a moment, her words suddenly vacant. "I was just being polite."

 

"Yeah, yeah, of course. I was just teasing." Owen backed away a little distancing himself.

 

"Me too," she said quickly. "Banter, that's all."

 

"I need a shower."

 

"Okay."

 

"You stay here and eat your breakfast."

 

"Well I wasn't planning on coming in with you."

 

"Of course not!" Owen backed into the fridge as he backed away. "Anyway, so--"

 

"Shower?"

 

"Yeah." Owen retreated, finding his way into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and rested his back against it, covering his face with his hands. "Shit."

* * *

The water had almost completely cooled by the time Jack had finished washing, and he threw the face cloth into the bowl with a splash. He looked over his shoulder as he dried his face and looked at the Welshman sitting on the bed, fastening up his boots. Looking up, Ianto found Jack's gaze before concentrating on the laces again.

 

Jack leant against the wall and put his hands in his pockets, looking side-on at Ianto. “I miss my shower,” he said. “I like hot running water in a morning. And a shave.”

 

Ianto said nothing; he had spoken very little since Iris had left them, spending close to twenty minutes dressing slowly in silence.

 

Jack draped the damp towel over the cast-iron bed frame and leant on the wall, looking over at Ianto. “So, you're not talking to me now?”

 

“I'm not consciously not talking to you,” he said. “I just have nothing to say.”

 

“I can think of a few things.”

 

“I don't want to talk, Jack.” Ianto stood briefly and slipped the white shirt on over his vest, then sat back down to fasten it, paying close attention to the buttons. “Talking sometimes just makes things worse.”

 

Jack sighed and slumped down on the bed, lying down and covering face with his hands. A frustrated growl escaped from his mouth, muffled by his hands.

 

“What?”

 

Jack slowly removed his hands and sat up, turning to face the Welshman. “Do you even know how much you drive me crazy sometimes?” he asked. “Very few people have ever been able to bring me to my knees the way you do."

 

Ianto smirked a little. “That's not what I've heard.”

 

Jack chuckled and took another deep breath, looking over at Ianto, his face still supporting a little smirk. He nudged his shoulder playfully. 

 

“We can't go on like this. One minute you're all over me and the next it's like I dint exist."

 

“No,” Ianto said. “I know that.”

 

“Things are hard enough without us being this way. We have to keep it together if we're going to keep our heads down.”

 

“It's just hard; I can't ignore you, but when I acknowledge you--”

 

“You cant resist me.” Jack smiled.

 

“As much as I would like to keep my pride and pretend that isn't the case, I would prove myself wrong far too quickly.”

 

“I think we've both successfully proved that we're not capable of resisting those particular urges.”

 

“If i could be sure of being able to go out there and look at you the same way as I did before all of this happened, then I wouldn't been so keen to resist,” Ianto said. "But I know that if anything major did happen between us, then I wouldn't be able to look at you across the dinner table without wanting to leap over it ever again.”

 

“And we can't have that.”

 

“Definitely not." 

 

“We'd squash the potatoes and break the china.” Jack queried an eyebrow. "That would make us very bad house guests.”

 

“We had better keep our hands to ourselves then.”

 

“Probably best.”

 

“Although,” Ianto took Jack's hand and turned to face him. ”There's no need to keep too much distance between when nobody can see."

 

"Really?" 

 

"But only when that door is locked, no carelessness."

 

“No.” Jack shook his head and looked at Ianto with the smallest hint of a smirk on his lips. “No more slip-ups."

 

"I might not sleep too far across the other side of the bed tonight."

 

“We can share the middle," Jack suggested, running his fingers up the Welshman's wrist. “Nights get cold.”

 

“Just as long as we don't do anything that could lead to us to--”

 

“Squashing the potatoes and breaking the china?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“But when we get home--”

 

“We could, potentially, break anything we wanted on _my_ kitchen table.”

 

Jack licked his dry lips and leaned towards the Welshman. “And is your kitchen table sturdy enough to break things on?”

 

“I don't know. I haven't tried it out yet.” Ianto ran his hands along Jack's thighs and hooked his thumbs inside the waistband of his trousers; he locked his eyes on Jack and let a small smirk tug at the corner of his lips. "I locked the door when Iris left." 

 

“You're a very cruel man."

 

"So I've been told."

 

"I can see you making things really hard for me.”

 

Ianto closed the gap between them and pushed Jack back onto the bed, straddling him; he hovered over him, bracing himself on his arms, Jack's lips close enough to touch.

 

“You're taking advantage of me now,” Jack said, closing his eyes. He could feel the gentle pressure as Ianto moved his hips a little from his dominant position above him. “I can't say I'm hating it.”

 

“Iris will be knocking on that door in a minute. We're missing breakfast.”

 

“I don't mind,” Jack breathed resting his hands on Ianto's hips. "I'm not hungry in the slightest.”

 

“I should go down.”

 

“I insist that you do,” Jack whimpered, sliding his hands around to Ianto's backside. “You're really very good at it." 

 

Ianto smiled a little and Jack opened his eyes, fixing them on the His gaze. “I meant downstairs.”

 

“The hell you did. You're such a cocktease.”

 

“Maybe,” Ianto smirked, lowering himself down and positioning his head to whisper into Jack's ear. “But I'm a good one.”

 

“Or a bad one,” Jack turned his head. “It really depends on definition.” He pulled the younger man's hips down, grabbing him and pulling their bodies closer together. “You really don't want to leave at this point.”

 

"I think this is the perfect time to leave." 

 

"You're probably right."

 

“I think I'm going to have to sit next to you at breakfast,” he breathed. “Looking across the table at you would be a very bad idea this morning.”

 

"Maybe." Jack pulled Ianto down for a kiss, letting it linger a moment.

 

“I need breakfast.” Ianto climbed off, offering his hand to Jack to pull him to his feet. He tucked the older man's shirt into his trousers, running a hand down his chest to straighten the buttons. 

 

“Do you intend to dress me every morning?"

 

"I like to look after you." 

 

Jack took his hand and pressed a kiss to his palm. "Let's go and breakfast."

 

Ianto kissed his lips softly, then stepped away and unlocked the door, opening it for him. 

"Thank you Mr. Jones."


	10. Chapter 10

Owen pulled his gun from his belt and edged his way into the familiar warehouse; it was cold, colder than it had been last time, and reeked unlike anything he had ever experienced. He put his hand across his mouth and tried to stop himself from gagging, then continued into the warehouse.

 

“God! What the hell is that smell?" 

 

"That smell is what we're here to investigate,” he reminded her. "Now had it been just a normal report of a funky smell coming from a warehouse on the docks I might have just put it down to something rational, but this is in the same place.”

 

“So it has to be connected.”

 

“Exactly.” Owen pulled her back inside by her jacket and pointed his torch up at the ceiling. Creatures that looked like a cross between a bat and a dog hung from in rows, covered in a blue gunge that seemed to drip slowly to the ground at irregular intervals; there must have been a couple hundred of them all sleeping in their slimy blue cocoons.

 

“What is it?” Tosh asked, backing away to side-step a large splatter of the blue liquid that fell in front of her. “And what the hell are those?”

 

“Fuck if I know.” He pulled a pair of examination gloves from his pocket and slipped them on, then crouched down to inspect the gunge. “I think the best thing to do is to take a sample of this stuff and see if we can sedate one of those things.” Owen pointed to the ceiling. “Maybe they will give us some kind of clue.”

 

“I've seen something like them before somewhere.” Tosh set down her rucksack and pulled out a digital camera; she took a few pictures of the strange looking creatures and then one of the gunge. “I used to have a book about mythical creatures, and I'm sure I saw those creatures somewhere in one of them, only they were smaller than that.” Tosh pointed up the cocoon's; each were at least four foot high and tightly packed together so that they took up as little space as possible.

 

“Mythical creatures huh?” Owen said, shining his light onto the ceiling and catching a glimpse of fang-like teeth protruding out from one of the creatures; he jumped back a little. “No creature seems mythical after you've been in this job for a while.”

 

Tosh tossed Owen a sample jar and a small tool belt. 

 

“Are they sleeping?”

 

“Well, they're definitely not dead and if they were awake I have a feeling that we might just be food, or at least a decent sized snack. Owen crouched down and took a sample of the gunge, putting it into the jar. "Those fangs aren't the calling card of a vegetarian species.”

 

“So what do we do if they wake up?”

 

“Run?” Owen suggested, stepping over the remaining gunge on the floor and towards the end of the large room.

 

“That's it?” she asked, “That's the best plan that you can come up with”

 

“A couple hundred flying dragon dog things with fucking huge teeth are after you, would you happen to have a better idea?”

 

“I guess not.”

 

“Well, then." They walked a little further down a corridor and then stopped. Owen pulled a syringe out of his pocket and held it up for Tosh to see. “Keep your eyes open, if there's one of those things awake, then I want it caught.”

* * *

“Okay, what happened?” Gwen walked over to Jack as he hammered a nail into the broken fence.

 

“I don't know.” Jack stood back and looked at the large hole. “It looks like something crashed through it.”

 

“Not to the fence. To you.”

 

“Me?” He turned around and stopped working, throwing his hammer onto the ground gently. “Nothing happened to me.”

 

“Yesterday, you were walking around with a dark cloud above your head, and today you look like the cat who got the cream."

 

"So?"

 

"It's like Rhys. He can be in a shitty mood and all I have to do is--" She smiled. "You didn't!"

 

"Didn't what?"

 

"Don't act innocent!"

 

“I was unhappy yesterday and today I'm feeling a bit better, that's all."

 

“You you expect me to believe that you just happen to be in a better mood today than you were yesterday and that it has nothing at all to do with the reason why you and Ianto were late for breakfast this morning?”

 

Jack turned away. “No.”

 

“When Iris and her father went outside and I turned around to get another cup of tea. You put your hand on Ianto's crotch and he shooed you away.”

 

“Oh yeah.” Jack smiled. “I may have done that.” He picked his hammer back up and started to work on the fence again. 

 

“So?” she prompted.

 

“So, what?”

 

“So, what happened?”

 

“Nothing I'm telling you about in 1901" 

 

“You two are impossible,” Gwen moaned, resting her back against the fence as she looked down at him. “I couldn't get anything out of Ianto and now I can't get anything out of you.”

 

“Have you ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, there's no big scandal?”

 

“No!”

 

Jack chuckled and took a deep breath, looking up at her. "Don't you have better things to do?" 

 

“Jack!” Gwen prompted him for an answer and he looked away.

 

“Its complicated.”

 

“What's compllic--”

 

A blood-curdling scream sounded out from somewhere in the distance and Jack leapt up, running towards the direction where it had come from. He ran across the courtyard, tripping a little as he sprinted, and bumped heads with Ianto as they collided.

 

“What was that?” Ianto asked.

 

The scream came again, louder this time and Ianto and Jack ran off to follow it. They ran into the barn and stopped when they saw Iris backed into a corner with a creature growling at her; it stood on its hind-legs and spread out its bat-like wings to their full width. The creature's skin was grey and hairless, with blue veins that glowed and throbbed in their wings like flashing neon lights; its feet had claws that dug into the stone, leaving indentations, and the muscles in the hind legs were strong like a fighting dog. It stood tall, reaching about six foot, and when it growled again it was loud and reverberated around the walls.

 

Ianto looked on the ground at the horse that was lying on its side with wounds that were inches deep and seeping blue gunge; his eyes were open, fluttering a little, and its legs desperately moved to try and get up. It seemed to be in pain and let out a high pitched noise that turned the beast's attention from Iris.

 

It made it's way over, backing Ianto into the corner and towards the injured horse. The creature's teeth were long, more than a few inches, and the face looked harrowing, like a pit-bull cross-bred with a vampire bat; hairless and hungry for blood.

 

Jack looked around the room and picked up the closest thing to hand, a long-handled broom which was leaning against the wall.

 

“Jack!” Ianto said, backing away slowly, never taking his eyes off the beast, “I really don't think that's going to do any good unless you intend on sweeping it to death!”

 

He looked at the broom and snapped it in half before thrusting the jagged end into the creature's back in a soft spot between its wings. It fell backwards and landed on the ground with a thud, narrowly missing Jack. Its eyes were still open and its legs sprawled around on the floor.

 

“Get Iris out of here,” Jack instructed. "I'll meet you outside.” He backed away as the beast managed to flip over and crawl its way over to him, the wings dragging against the floor.

 

Ianto made his way over to Iris and pulled her up, leading her out of the door.

 

The beast moved over to Jack, crawling along the stone floor with his red eyes zoned in on him; claws scraped across the ground and wings flopped and dragged behind. There wasn't far left for Jack to go as he backed himself into the corner, but the creature looked weak and it's breathing was heavy and strained. He waited for it to come to him a little more before moving swiftly towards it and sticking the wooden stick through the centre of the beast's chest.

 

An almighty roar sounded from somewhere inside the animal and it fell backwards, landing on the stone heavily, cracking it where it lay.

 

Jack took a closer look and nudged the creature with his foot; it was definitely dead, and the blood that seeped from the wound was blue and glowing. Slowly, the veins in the creature's wings started to fade until the whole body had faded to a static grey. He walked outside and closed the door behind him, resting against it for a moment.

 

He cast his eyes over at Ianto who sat on the ground, with Iris lying in front of him.

 

“What happened?” Jack asked, “it didn't bite her, did it?”

 

“No. She fainted.”

 

“Oh, good.”

 

“What was that thing?” Ianto questioned, tapping Iris' face to try and wake her.

 

“God only knows, but I've never seen it before.” He looked down at Iris as she started to flutter her eyes open a little. “You should get her inside.”

 

"And say what?"

 

"Anything but the truth." 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Owen walked into the room carefully and shone his torch on the floor. The caucuses of dead rats lay on the ground, and some were moving, only half living, attempting to move.

 

“Well at least we know how they've been surviving,” he said, moving his way through the room and towards the corner where one of the beasts sat in the corner, feasting on a small domestic animal. “That looks like the perfect specimen, wouldn't you say?”

 

“If you can get it.”

 

Owen handed Tosh his torch and she lit the back of the creature whilst Owen removed the cap from the syringe that he kept in his pocket. He edged his way over to it and pounced on it quickly, stabbing the needle into it's neck and injecting it with the solution. The beast turned and looked at him with sleepy red eyes, stalking him across the room.

 

"I don't think it worked." Owen said, backing away. 

 

Tosh bent over, picking an old brick from the ground, then lifted it above her head with both hands and bashed it on the head, knocking the creature out, then pressed the stun gun into the base of its spine. "That worked." 

 

"Thanks." Owen filled another syringe and sedated it again. "That should do it." 

 

“That one looks small,” Tosh said, crouching down to inspect it. 

 

“It's probably an offspring.” Owen took off his jacket and covered the creature with it, bundling it up and cradling it. It was small, but heavy and the fangs looked under-developed; the claws were sharp, but only measured half an inch and the skin was wrinkled. It was most definitely not an adult like the ones hanging from the high ceiling on the other room; they were at least four feet in height with smoother skin and sharper talons.

 

“We should get it back to the hub,” Owen said. “I want to run some tests.”

 

“Do you think it's connected?”

 

“I don't see how it could be anything else. It's in the same place as the others went missing, and they're definitely a product of the rift. We should get out of here.”

 

As they turned to walk out, a large creature shrouded the room in darkness, blocking out any light with it's wings; it was much larger than the others by at least a few feet, with wings that spanned twice as wide as the height.

 

“I think we've found mama,” Owen said.

 

“She doesn't look happy.”

 

“No.”

 

“Is it time to do that running thing you were talking about earlier?” Tosh asked, spotting another door to an unknown corridor across the other side of the room. “Because I'm really starting to see the attraction of that plan.”

 

“Yep. Run.”

* * *

Ianto carried Iris into the living room and laid her down on the couch; she was awake but every time she tried to walk she just stumbled on her weak legs. He untied her laces and removed her shoes, putting her feet up on a cushion, placed another under her head for comfort.

 

“What was it?” Iris spoke softly, but her voice filtered through the silent room.

 

“A hybrid,” Ianto lied quickly, kneeling down on the ground. “A scientific experiment gone wrong.”

 

“It was hideous.”

 

“It's dead now.”

 

Iris hesitated a little before sitting up and looking down at Ianto on the floor. “You saved me from it. You and the Captain risked your lives for me. Why?”

 

“What kind of house guests would we be if we let a beast kill our hostess?”

 

Iris returned the smile that Ianto gave her, and then it dropped suddenly from her face. She looked out the window. “Do you suppose there are any more out there?”

 

“I don't know.” Ianto pulled himself to his feet and sat next to Iris on the couch. “But it may be better if you don't mention this to anyone.”

 

“Why?”

 

“It's just a bad idea. They don't understand and they wouldn't believe you anyway.”

 

“What about my father?” she asked, “he really ought to know.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I tell him everything,” Iris said, “I couldn't lie.”

 

“You wouldn't be lying, more like omitting.”

 

“Which is lying by default,” she argued.

 

“Do you trust me?” 

 

"Yes.”

 

“Then believe me when I tell you that there is no good that can come of telling anyone about this.”

 

“What are you hiding?” she asked. “You, the Captain, Gwen. What's the big secret?”

 

“What makes you think that we have secrets?”

 

Iris turned her body to face Ianto and looked directly into his eyes. “You dress differently, you behave differently and you lie about why you're here. So, the least that you can do is tell me why you lie to me when I'm no threat.”

 

“I'm not--”

 

“Ianto!” The girl's tone was sharp, and shocked him a little. She took a breath and relaxed a little. “Mr. Jones. Tell me what you're hiding. Please?”

 

“We all have secrets,” he said. “But some are meant to be that way. The secrets that we hold and the things that we don't tell you are things that you don't want to believe.”

 

“How would you know that I don't want to believe them when you don't know who I am?”

 

“For the same reasons that you trust me when you know I'm lying to you.” Ianto stood up and started to walk away, only to feel himself being pulled back. 

 

“I don't like secrets, but i do trust you. I know that if you tell me that what you're hiding is something that I don't want to know then it must be a secret bigger than the world itself.” She stood up and walked over to him. “By all means keep your secrets, but don't suffer by protecting someone who doesn't need to be protected.”

 

"Iris--"

 

"I don't need protecting."

 

"I'm not protecting you; I'm protecting everyone else.”

 

“I worry about you,” Iris moved her free hand to cup his cheek.

 

“Don't.”

 

“I feel like something is going to happen to you. I can see it, and I worry for you when you're caught up in these lies.” She let her fingers fall from his face and took a step back. “Please don't lie to me.”

 

“The world can't cope with our secrets, and neither can you.” He turned and headed for the door. “I'm going to see if Jack needs me in the barn.”

* * *

“I've never seen anything like it.” Jack was inspecting the wound in the side of the horse, whilst Gwen tried to patch it up with gauze. “The wounds are so deep, but it's almost like they were filled in with this gunge. I've removed it as much as I can, but I don’t know if he's going to make it" 

 

"At times like this we could do with Owen being around"

 

"And tosh," Jack added. 

 

"We're a team for a reason.”

 

“It stinks,” Jack said. “It’s blue and it stinks; I've never seen it before and I have no desire to see it again.”

 

"What do you think it is?"

 

“It's probably a way or warning other creatures away from its food.”

 

“I bet it works too, I know I'd never eat anything that smelt like that. Can the horse be saved?"

 

“I don't know, he's in a lot of pain and we have no idea what that stuff has done to it. My bigger concern would be what the hell we do with that.” Jack pointed to the dead beast which was now slightly embedded in the stone of the floor.

 

"We could bury it?"

 

“And risk someone finding it and declaring it a new species of dinosaur or something? No we'll have to burn it."

 

“I bet this wasn't the way that you saw this morning panning out.”

 

“Definitely not.” Jack sighed heavily and threw a large sheet over the creature. “The day started out good, very good.” He smirked a little, then stopped himself and proceeded to drag the heavy body of the creature over to the corner. “This is not how I envisioned my day at all.”

 

“And all this before lunch.”

 

“Do you suppose it came through with us?” Ianto appeared in the doorway and walked over to help Jack drag the body. “Or do you think the rift has opened again?”

 

“I didn't even think about that,” Jack said, giving Ianto a smile over the carcass of the creature.

 

“How's Iris?” Gwen asked.

 

Ianto took a deep breath and shook his head. “She's on to us. Nice dress by the way, your ankles look really alluring in it. 

 

“Shut up!" Gwen laughed a little, looking down at herself. “What does she know?”

 

“I don't think she knows anything really, other than this isn't just a scientific experiment gone wrong. She knows we're hiding something, and something big, but she doesn't know what.”

 

“So, is she going to tell her father?” Jack asked. “Because that could be a problem.”

 

“I persuaded her that it would be a very bad idea.”

 

“You and your persuasion methods.” Jack looked over at Ianto, smirking. 

 

“All part of Torchwood training, along with emotional blackmail.”

 

“Well I think that I'm going to go an change out of these clothes.” she pointed at the blue gunge on her blouse. "I'm sure iris has another lovely ensemble for me to wear." 

 

“Me too,” Ianto said, “It’s starting to burn my skin.”

 

“I'm going to stay here for a while and see if I can get my head around this thing.” Jack took a deep breath and looked between the horse and the dead creature. “There's something wrong with the rift,” he said thoughtfully. “We're miles from Cardiff and the rift is dumping it's junk out here; something is happening and it's not good.”

* * *

“Is that really necessary?” Tosh pointed to the creature that lay sedated on the autopsy table with it's wings tied down.

 

“You saw it going at that dog back there, do you really want that to be us?" Owen put the blue blood sample he had just taken into a specimen jar and turned to look at her across the table. “This little thing will probably grow into one of those huge things, and I have no idea how long these creatures take to grow, so I'm not taking any chances so--”

 

“Owen.” Tosh stopped paying attention when she heard a faint bubbling coming from the jar that contained the blue gunge. “Owen, what's that?” she pointed to the jar.

 

“I don't know, I need to analyse it.”

 

“No, I mean what's it doing?”

 

The smell from the warehouse was back and was seeping out from the container, sending out a sort of grey smoke. Owen walked over to it and touched the jar, jumping back instantly when he felt the heat through the glass. He held his hand away and inspected the red burn that started to appear.

 

“Hot?” Tosh asked.

 

“Just a bit.”

 

The gunge started to bubble erratically and the jar wobbled a little; after a moment it stopped and suddenly, after about twenty seconds, vanished..

 

“What the--” Owen walked towards it and inspected the bench; the blue gunge had turned to a black stone, approximately an inch wide and the glass jar had gone completely. "This is going to be harder than I thought." 

 

"A report has just come in of two bodies in an alley off princess street," tosh said looking at her PDA screen. "Large bites, possibly a dog attack." 

 

"Dog my arse." 

 

"Exactly my thought." 

 

"I'll get the keys."

* * *

Jack walked into his bedroom and looked at his shirt, still stained with the blue slime from the creature. He had found no other clues in the barn and the blue gunge was starting to blister his skin through his shirt. He took it off, and threw it in the basket in the corner.

 

“Striptease?” Ianto asked. “In the afternoon?” 

 

Jack heard Ianto’s voice from behind him, then the very distinctive sound of a old key turning in a lock. 

 

“Hi.”

 

Ianto took a seat on the bed and sat up against the headboard, watching Jack as he undressed. “Carry on, Captain.”

 

“What are you doing hiding up here?”

 

“I'm not hiding; I'm waiting.” He jumped up from the bed again and walked over to Jack, untucking his vest from the waistband of his trousers before yanking it over his head. “Waiting patiently for you.”

 

“You just can't keep your hands off me today.”

 

“Are you complaining?” he asked. “Because I can stop.”

 

“I'm not complaining,” Jack put his hand on Ianto's stomach and manoeuvred him back towards the bed, pushing him down on it, straddling him lightly. "Although, today is a rather strange day to want to shag me.” He pushed Ianto back onto the bed and unfastened his buttons, sliding his shirt over his shoulders. “If I had known that big scary things with wings and teeth turned you on so much I would have made more of an effort at Halloween.”

 

“I wasn't actually intending on shagging you,” Ianto told him. “I was thinking more of stress-relief.”

 

“Stress-relief?” Jack asked, a little offended. He climbed off Ianto and stood above him, looking down. “I'm stress-relief?”

 

“No.” Ianto sat up and shimmied to the edge, putting his hands on Jack's belt. 

 

“I don’t think I understand.”

 

“I'm _your_ stress relief.” He unfastened the Captain's belt, never removing his eyes from his gaze.

 

Jack raised an eyebrow when Ianto slid the trousers over his hips and pulled him closer. 

 

“You're offering me stress relief in the form of--”

 

“Only if you want it.”

 

“What happened to not getting too close?” Jack asked. “Not that I'm resisting.”

 

“We broke that rule this morning and I don't see the point on having another pointless conversation about it.” He hooked his fingers inside Jack's underwear and threatened to pull them down. 

 

“You do make some very good points.”

 

Ianto lowered his head and planted a trail of soft kisses across Jack's stomach, then pulled down the material a little; he looked up. “That thing could have killed you.”

 

“It didn't.” Jack said, his hand moving to cup the Welshman’s cheek as he looked up.

 

“It could’ve.”

 

“It was never going to kill me.” 

 

“I'd be lost in this world without you.” Ianto lowered his head and sucked on the older man's hip. His tongue swept across the skin, sucking him into his mouth. He yanked down Jack's underwear and dragged his tongue over Jack's body, tracing a trail from his left hip and over to his right.

 

“Oh God.” Jack looked down at the Welshman and tangled his fingers in his hair, pulling him gently towards him. “You're going to kill me with a mouth like that.”

 

Ianto's hands moved around Jack's back and traced his spine, gripping his backside before sliding them around the back of his thighs, pulling him in. His tongue reversed its previous trail and moved back across Jack's hip, sucking in the skin before making his way down his thigh.

 

Jack's breaths were harsh and desperate as he felt the warmth of Ianto's lips cross his thigh; he whimpered when the Welshman bypassed his goal and worked his way back up towards his hipbone.

 

“Jack!” Gwen's voice filtered through the door.

 

“Bad time,” he groaned. “I'm changing.”

 

Ianto chose that moment to move his hands around from Jack's thighs and wrap his fingers around his cock, stroking him slowly as he locked his eyes into an intense gaze.

 

“It's the creature,” she said.

 

Ianto followed the path of his hand with his tongue, and smiled when he felt Jack's hand grip his hair a little, being careful not to force him. He pulled Jack in closer, taking his length into his warm mouth.

 

“Oh!” Jack gasped loudly and looked down at the Welshman whose eyes looked up at him, dark and sultry. “It can wait five minutes.” Ianto licked Jack's length slowly with the tip of his tongue. “Ten minutes.”

“Jack!” she shouted through the door. “It's gone,"


	11. Chapter 11

Ianto and Gwen followed Jack into the barn, now all in fresh clothing, and crouched down beside him on the ground.

 

“What is it?” Ianto asked 

 

“It appears to be a stone,” Jack said.

 

In the corner, where Jack and Ianto had dragged the body of the beast, was now empty save for a large black stone. It measured no more than four inches in width and looked like an everyday stone that you might find in the garden. Jack reached out towards the object and touched it with the back of his hand; it was cold and smooth to the touch. He picked it up; it was light, lighter than an ordinary stone of that size and it took on his heat, warming at his touch.

 

“This,” Jack said, holding up the stone. “Is no ordinary stone. This an environmentally friendly alien.”

 

Ianto rose an eyebrow. “A what?”

 

“An environmentally friendly alien,” he repeated. “I've seen it before. Around the twenty-fifth century they realise that the environment seriously needs preserving, so technology is created to compress all waste material into minerals that can be used as a renewable sort of fossil fuel.” He pointed to it. “This is future coal.”

 

Gwen and Ianto looked at each other and then at Jack.

 

“What?” he said, “you don't think that aliens have an eco-system to protect like everybody else?”

 

“So, that ages them to the twenty-fifth century?” Ianto asked, catching the stone when Jack tossed it to him.

 

“At least.”

 

“So what now?” Gwen inspected the stone and Ianto handed it to her.

 

“We need to know if these creatures have come through the rift on their own, or whether they came through with us. If they came through themselves then there's a possibility that there's a temporal weakness somewhere around here.”

 

“So we could get home?” Gwen asked. "That's good news, right?"

 

Not necessarily. Just because there's a temporal weakness, it doesn't mean it'll take us home, it just means it'll take us somewhere.” He turned to Gwen. “Go and ask Iris if she has any camping gear.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I want to know more about these things, and the only way to do that is to observe; I want to camp out tonight and do some surveillance.”

 

“Okay.” Gwen handed Jack the stone and wandered off in the direction of the farmhouse.

 

Ianto looked at Jack, putting his hands on his hips in that way he always did when he was anxious.

 

“What?”

 

“On your own?” Ianto asked, “you're going to camp out here alone when there's the possibility that one of those things could attack again?”

 

“Yes, unless I have a volunteer.”

 

“Our last camping trip wasn't a success,” Ianto reminded him. “If you remember, I ended up with a meat-cleaver to my throat.”

 

“That's why we're going to be on our guard this time."

 

“You don't know what they're capable of, you don't know what they can do Jack. What will you do if there's more than one of them?”

 

“I don't know.”

 

“Or, what if there's a whole herd of them.”

 

“I don't know!” he repeated. “I don't know anything. We don't have any equipment, or any weapons or any archive to refer to. We have nothing except for what we know, and y'know what?”

 

“What?”

 

“I'm actually scared this time.” Jack distanced himself from Ianto and looked down at the ground. “I don't know why they're here or what they want, or even if they want anything at all. I have no idea how to get rid of them.”

 

“We’ll work it out, we always do.”

 

“What if this is because of us, and these creatures are here because we messed with the rift? I don't want to be responsible for that.”

 

Ianto closed the gap and kissed Jack's lips softly, pushing him into the shadows to move away from view. Jack wrapped his arms around him and deepened the kiss, only to be pushed away a little after a moment.

 

“I'm sorry, It's the best distraction I know of.” Ianto put his hands on the side of Jack's neck. “Kissing you seems to be the only guaranteed way to shut you up.”

 

“What happened to your rules?” Jack asked.

 

“I can break the rules on special occasions.”

 

“Really?”

 

“It was probably a very unwise move, I admit.”

 

“I don’t think so.” Jack put his hands on the younger man's stomach and guided him further into the darkness of the building.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“I can break the rules, too.”

 

“No.” Ianto moved the older man’s hands away from his stomach. “The moment passed.”

 

“Iris is with Gwen, Joseph went into town to run some errands, who’s going to see?” Jack pressed a kiss against against his neck.

 

“Jack--” Ianto moved away a little. 

 

“Have you ever had sex in a barn?”

 

“I’m not answering that.” Ianto let him push him into the darkest corner. “I dont want to encourage you any more than I already have.”

 

“I've always thought sex in a barn was a huge turn on, .” He untucked Ianto's shirt from his trousers and slipped his fingers underneath, moving layers until he reached his skin. “Haven't you?”

 

“I'm not having sex with you in a barn in the middle or the day.”

 

Jack opened his mouth to speak.

 

“Or the night,” Ianto said quickly. “This is not going to happen.”

 

“I can imagine you all spread out in a barn.” Jack started to trace circles on the Welshman's stomach and moved his lips to his ear. 

 

“Jack--” Ianto leaned into Jack's and whimpered a little when he felt his teeth brush gently against his earlobe. 

 

“I think it would be really hot.”

 

“Getting caught isn't.”

 

“And who says we'll get caught?” Jack's fingers brushed Ianto's stomach again, creating a trail from one side to the other. “We could spend hours in here without anyone even realising that we're missing.”

 

Ianto put his hands on Jack's shoulders to push him away, but found himself melting into him when he pushed him gently against the wall and raked his short nails across his stomach. 

 

“Jack.” he muttered his name weakly, resting his head against the wall. “Don't.”

 

Jack unfastened the buttons of Ianto's shirt and pushed it over his shoulders, then clawed at his undershirt, pushing it halfway up his chest. His lips moved to the Welshman's neck and his hands roamed his torso. “

 

It's your own fault,” he said, “if you hadn't started something upstairs fifteen minutes ago then I wouldn't have you pinned against a wall in a barn.”

 

“You wouldn't?”

 

Jack pondered and then broke into a smile on Ianto's neck. 

 

“Alright, so maybe I would, but you make me so much worse.” He moved his mouth to Ianto's lips and kissed him softly, nipping his bottom lip between his teeth and sucking on it.

 

Ianto wrapped his arms around him finally, pulling his body against him; one of his hands roamed Jack's back, finding its way under his shirt, whilst the other tangled in his hair. His fingers ran through the Captain's hair and gripped it, pulling a little at the edges as he pulled his lips closer.

 

“We should be working,” Ianto mumbled between kisses, fighting off Jack's mouth so he could speak. Jack hung off his bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth as he spoke, before moving to kiss his jaw and neck. “The thing just vanished,” he said weakly. “We really should investigate the-- the--”

 

“The thing?” Jack suggested..

 

“Yeah. We should investigate the thing.”

 

“We have five minutes to spare,” Jack mumbled.

 

Suddenly, Ianto pushed him back a little. “Five minutes?”

 

“Or ten.” Jack moved back to the Welshman's neck. “It's probably not going to be as drawn out as I would like. You got me pretty riled up before.”

 

Ianto shoved him away to arms length. “Well that's romantic,” he said, “hey here's a barn lets have a quickie; typical.”

 

Jack pushed Ianto back against the wall and pinned his hands softly by his side. “You cannot be insulted,” he whispered, kissing the Welshman's neck. “You can't turn me on to the point of needing to pin you up against a wall in a barn and then be insulted because I tell you that I can't hold out.”

 

Ianto slipped his hands away from Jack's grasp and pushed him away a little. “Look at me and read my lips.” He tilted the older man's face to look directly into his eyes. “I am not having sex with you in a barn”.

 

“Don't you want a little roll around in the hay?” Jack asked. “Literally.”

 

Ianto let himself be pushed back against the wall again. “We're a stones throw from the house. Anyone could hear us.”

 

Jack kissed Ianto's neck softly. “Then we'll just have to be really quiet.”

 

“So. You want our first time to be a quickie in a barn, holding back in case someone hears us?” he asked, “that's not going to happen.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I know you,” Ianto said. “you're not the quiet type.”

 

Jack chuckled and leaned into Ianto's ear. “Then you better find something to gag me with.”

 

“Well if you really want me to hold back and go through the motions I can,” Ianto said. “But that would mean that it wouldn't be half as good as it could be.” he felt Jack's lips come to a stop on his neck. “Because it could be amazing.”

 

Jack stepped back. “One day you're going to kill me.”

 

Ianto pulled Jack back by his shirt and kissed him softly, then moved away, letting his thumbs rest on Jack's cheeks. 

“What we're doing is risky enough without being reckless.”

 

“I know.”

 

“This behaviour is exactly how I ended up in a mess the last time.”

 

“In a barn?”

 

“I want you now probably more than I have ever wanted anyone, but if I'm weak , if I give in to you and we're found out then that’s it.”

 

“I know,” Jack's voice cracked and then he took a breath to control it. “You know, I would die for you a thousand times if you would let me.”

 

“Don't say that,” Ianto gave Jack a broken smile. “I would never be worth that to you, nobody's worth that to you.”

 

“You are.”” Jack leaned in to Ianto, resting their foreheads together. “If I could sell my soul to get you home then I would. I would do anything for you to be in a world that doesn't make you look like you're scared to breathe when you're with me.”

 

“Sometimes I'm not scared to breathe, i just can't. You look at me and your eyes burn through my skin so much that i can feel the heat. I forget how to breathe for a moment until you stop.” he looked up at Jack; his gaze was heavy, and Ianto could feel his uneven breath heat his lips. “Jack, losing myself in you is more terrifying than getting lost in time could ever be.”

 

Jack moved closer and kissed him softly, putting his hand on the Welshman's chin to draw him closer; he didn't deepen the kiss, instead he moved away just a little.

 

“We should get out of here,” Ianto said. “We can't let big winged beast things take over rural Wales now can we?”

 

“Certainly not.” Jack looked at him for a moment and chuckled. “You're a mess.”

 

“Well that's not my fault; you mauled me.”

 

“I didn't maul, I don't maul,” Jack said straightening Ianto's shirt over his shoulders, “I grope.”

 

“Like there's a difference.”

 

“Groping is a friendly maul,” he explained, casually fastening the buttons. “I'm harmless.”

 

“Of course you are,” Ianto straightened Jack's ruffled hair as he fastened his shirt. “Gorgeous and harmless. It's very rare to find both qualities together.”

 

“You forgot to mention painfully handsome.”

 

Ianto straightened Jack's collar and let his hands trail down the shirt. “I'm not going to encourage you.” He pushed himself away from the older man and headed for the door. “We should go and sort out the camping stuff.”

* * *

Owen walked up the steps from the autopsy area wearing his white coat and leant on the wall lethargically. “Okay, so I extracted some more of that blue gunge from the specimen, but unfortunately I can’t do much to analyse it.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because every time I come close the bloody stuff vanishes and takes my equipment with it.”

 

“So what now?”

 

“Well--” Owen walked over to her, trailing his chair behind him, and then sat opposite her, “I think it's safe to say that this stuff should be kept as far away from people as possible. So, I want you get on to the boys in blue and get a cordon secured within a mile radius of the warehouse.”

 

“And what else do we do?”

 

“Bugger if I know.”

 

“If Jack was here--”

 

“Well he's not. He's not here, Gwen isn't here and neither is Ianto; it's just you and me and we have to do the best that we can until we can get them back.” Owen stood up and made his way back towards the autopsy area. 

 

“And what if we can't?” Tosh asked, forcing him to stop and turn around. “What if they're stuck?”

 

“Then we have to replace them,” he said. “But we're not giving up yet.”

 

“I don't know if I completely trust your ability anymore.”

 

“Well then, don’t let the door hit you in the arse on your way out.”

 

“Fine, you want me to go?” Tosh picked up her things. “You think you can handle this on your own?”

 

“I do as it happens.”

 

“Fine, do it on your own.” She pulled her jacket off the back of her chair and headed for the door. "Do it all on your own."

 

“I dont need you anyway!”

* * *

"Camping?" Iris asked Gwen, perplexed. "Captain Harkness wants to go camping?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"Whatever for?"

 

"Jack is very interested in stargazing."

 

"I have a tent, but it's not very good,"

 

Gwen smiled kindly, helping Iris peel some vegetables. "He won't mind."

 

"He'll have to go and get it himself, we have guests coming tomorrow and staying until overnight and with them taking up that room I have to set the other one up, so I'm too busy to fetch it out." 

 

"I'm sure he can manage."

 

"How's your ankle?" 

 

"Getting better, but still really painful."

 

"Y'know, there's one thing I hate more in life than a liar." She said. "And that's three liars." 

 

"Iris--"

 

"Your ankle is fine, I saw you running into the barn earlier." 

 

"I can explain." 

 

"Ever since you turned up there's been nothing but trouble. First, that night you came, that horrible smell in the air, then twelve of our chickens got ripped to pieces in one night and now those dragons?" She put her knife down, leaning across the table to look at her. "What are you?" 

 

"What happened to your chickens?"

 

"I want answers and I want them now."

 

"Your chickens!" She repeated. "What happened."

 

"They had their heads bitten off by a fox, or a dog or something, but much bigger." 

 

"Iris?" Gwen got up and dashed around the table, grabbing the knife from her hand. She pulled her up. "Show me where." 

 

"Are you going to tell me the truth?" 

 

"We catch monsters," Gwen said. "We catch them and we stop them from hurting people, but we can't stop them if you don't help us." 

 

"You've lied to me, all of you!" 

 

"I know."

 

"Even Mr. Jones." Iris slumped down on her stool. "He seemed so honest, no nice. You all seemed so nice, so trustworthy, but none of you are." 

 

"We just want to help you."

 

"You can help by leaving," she said. "You can stay in the house tonight, but after than I want you all gone."

 

"And we'll go, but I do need for you to show me the chickens."

* * *

Tosh sat at home looking through her collection of mythology books, sticking postits on all the appropriate pages. She took a drink of her wine, knocking it back before walking towards the kitchen to refill it. A knock on the door made her change her route and she opened it, empty glass it hand. 

 

Owen stood in the doorway, his short leather jacket protecting him from the rain.

 

"Come back." 

 

"Go away, Owen." 

 

"No." He stops the door with his foot when Tosh tired to close it, then pushed it open fully and leaned on the doorframe. "I'm an arse Tosh, but sometimes that's just how I am." 

 

"Sometimes?"

 

"Most of the time." 

 

Tosh gave up and walked inside, leaving him to follow. 

 

"It's really hard, Tosh. I'm trying to keep us hoping but I can't if I don't have your support and your help. I can’t do it on my own." 

 

"I know I'm not Gwen. I don't have her toughness, or her style or her other assets.”

 

“Tosh--”

 

“But I am trying so hard to get through this.” 

 

“I need you,” he said. 

 

“You told me to go, you said you didn’t need me.”

 

“I say a lot of things I don't mean, I'm a man, it's genetic." He puts his hands on her face. "Don’t leave me, Tosh." 

 

"You sound like you're begging me.” Tosh smiled a little. “You never beg.”

 

“I'm desperate and you're all I've got left. I gave up everything for this job and built my whole life around it, around you lot. I've got nothing else, only you." 

 

"Okay." 

 

“Grab your coat then, we have work to do.”

 

"Where are we going?" 

 

"Our dead bodies have a secret, I didn't notice it right away because I didn't check right away, too busy trying to get the others back and then the creepy mythical bat things happened.”

 

“What’s the secret?”

 

“They're too clean, Tosh.”

 

“Too clean?” Tosh grabbed her coat as Owen pulled her towards the front door. “What do you mean?” 

 

"They're in their late twenties. No signs of any fillings or medical procedures, no tramp stamps or tatoos, no piercings.” 

 

“So?”

 

“How many fillings do you have?” He asked as he pulled the door shut.

 

“Two.”

 

“What's the likelihood of four people that age having nothing? They have no credit cards, no debit cards, no mobile phone for God’s sake. They're human, I checked their blood, but they're out of place. They have no dental records, no medical records that I can find, no fingerprint or Dna records.”

 

“What do you think?”

 

“ Our murder victims are from the past, I'd bet my life on it.”

 

“If that’s true they must've gone missing at some time. Someone has to have reported them missing at some point if they're at least from recent times. I'll search missing person records as far back as they go. If we find them, we find a time they went missing and then we know where this all started.” 

 

“See, I told you I needed you.”

* * *

Gwen followed iris into the building where they kept the chickens; a panel on the side of the wooden building had been ripped through, then patched up with spare bits of timber and a few nails. She investigated the blood on the ground, looking at the splatters on the floor and walls. Some stray feathers were still attached, matted into the blood and some even appeared to be on the ceiling. If Gwen were to hazard a guess she would say that the animals had struggled before being thrown against the wall.

 

"When did this happen?” Gwen asked 

 

“The night before last." 

 

"Did you see it?" 

 

"No, just the animal,” Iris said. “It got out the same way it got in, through the hole it ripped in the side.”

 

“What did it look like?” Gwen asked, crouching down to look more closely at the damage to the wood panels.. “Was it big?”

 

“I’m not sure, it was hunched over too much. But it had big teeth, I remember that.”

 

“And this has never happened before?”

 

“We sometimes get a few foxes around here, or wild dogs that have a go, but not like this. nothing that rips holes in walls to get to them.”

 

“I’m sorry this is happening,” Gwen said. 

 

“Can you stop it?”

 

“I dont know.”

 

“So what’s the point of you?” Iris asked. 

 

“Look, I know you’re angry and you think we lied to you--” 

 

“You did lie!” She bit angrily. “You all lied to me, all of you.”

 

“Its for your own good. The things we see, they’re not supposed to be here” Gwen stood up and walked over to her, putting her hand on Iris’ shoulder to try and calm her.

 

“And what are you going to do about it?”

 

“I Dont know, but we’ll figure something out,” Gwen promised. “We will.”

 

“We were fine here before you all came along.” Iris said, looking around at the remaining hens, still visibly shaken. “Maybe if you go, then things will go back to normal.”

 

“Or they won’t.”

 

“You’re all leaving tomorrow, so we’ll find out soon enough.”

 

“I think you need us here to help you,” Gwen said, her tone soft. “You need us or you could be in danger.”

"If we're in danger it's because you made us."

"We'll put it right."

 

“You’ve all lied to us, how can I trust anything you say?”

 

“I don’t know how to prove that we’re trustworthy, but we are.”

 

“Gwen.” Iris sighed. “You might not understand this, but this farm is our life and our livelihood, we cant always afford the luxury of second chances.”

 

“I’m sorry, but I’m being honest with you now and the lying ends here.”

 

“Its too late for sorry, I want you out tomorrow,” Iris said walking away. “All of you.”

* * *

“Remind me why this is necessary?” Ianto asked, hammering the last tent peg into the ground and stepping back to admire his work. The tent was small and didn't look waterproof, with nothing but a tie-back to keep the cold out.

 

“I want to see if these things are nocturnal and if there are any more of them.” Jack's hand appeared from inside the tent and grabbed the Welshman's wrist, pulling him inside. “I think it's pretty cosy, don’t you?”

 

Inside, the tent was kitted out with a thin groundsheet, a lamp, a tin thermos, a pair of binoculars and a make-shift bed; two pillows lay side-by-side with a few blankets to keep them warm.

 

“It better not rain,” Ianto said. “And those blankets better be thick. I'm freezing.”

 

“I got you a present.” Jack sat down on the ground and threw Ianto a wooly hat. “This should keep your head warm.”

 

Ianto pulled it on over his head and glared at the older man who stifled a laugh.

 

“What about the rest of me?” Ianto asked.

 

“Well, I can take care of that.”

 

“For God’s sake.” Ianto rolled his eyes dramatically and sat down beside him. “You're insatiable.”

 

“You make that sound like a bad thing.”

 

“Tonight is not the night for a stakeout Jack, I'm tired. It's been a really long day.”

 

“You can go to sleep,”Jack said, lying down under the blanket. He tapped the space behind him. “I'll wake you if I want you.”

 

“That's a dangerous thought.”

 

The Welshman kicked off his shoes, then climbed under the blankets beside Jack, tucking himself underneath the blanket. He pulled his jacket tight around him, then brought the blanket up to his neck. “This better be worth it.”

“It will be.”

“And keep your hands to yourself. This is not Brokeback Montain.”


	12. Chapter 12

Jack walked into the tent from inside and took off his boots quickly before jumping back into the make-shift bed beside Ianto and covering himself with the blankets. The younger man turned on his side and pulled the covers further around him as he shivered.

 

“Anything out there?” Ianto mumbled.

 

“No. It was just a fox.”

 

“I'm glad to hear that. I'm going back to sleep.” Ianto turned around and folded his arms around him. “Wake me when there’s a real emergency.”

 

“What are you being so grumpy for?”

 

“I hate camping, there's weird noises outside and I'm absolutely freezing.” Ianto pulled the blankets up to his neck. “Camping does not agree with me, especially not since the last experience I had with it included me almost getting made into a human takeaway.”

 

“Why don't you come over here and I'll warm you up?” Jack suggested.

 

“Warm me up, or feel me up?” Ianto eyed Jack suspiciously over his shoulder.

 

“That all depends,” the Captain cocked an eyebrow. “What will get you over here quicker?”

 

The Welshman sighed and rolled over, tucking himself under Jack's arm and resting his head on his chest. One of his hands slipped underneath Jack's shirt and moved a little closer. Jack jumped at the cold contact at first, but quickly settled into it and wrapped the blankets around them. 

 

“Don't get the wrong idea,” Ianto said. “I'm just cold and as soon as I’m warm again I’m moving back.”

 

“And what idea would I get?”

 

“The same idea you always seem to get when anything with a pulse shares your body heat.”

 

“I should be insulted, but I'm far too cold to argue.” Jack pulled the younger man closer, rubbing his back.

 

There was silence for a moment and just for a second Jack thought that the rhythmic breathing and lack of complaining meant that Ianto had drifted back off to sleep. He settled his head down on the pillow, looking up at the tent as the cold air billowed through it. 

 

“I hate the bloody countryside,” Ianto whispered against Jack’s chest. His fingers fanned out underneath the material of the older man's shirt and covered the spot above his heart. “I used to be fine, I used to be able to cope with anything, but everything here is more intense.”

 

“I'm so used to having to break down all those walls you build up to get to how you're really feeling, but here I get the feeling that you just can't hide it.” Jack smiled faintly. “You don't need to.”

 

“There is so much I'm hiding Jack; so much I lie about. Lies are easy when the truth hurts so much.”

 

“Sometimes you have to lie.”

 

“You do?”

 

“If you knew all of my secrets then I'm sure you wouldn't be lying here with me now.”

 

“Why not?” Ianto asked. “What have you done?”

 

“I've done some terrible things, no doubt you have too, but secrets are secrets for a reason. I don't need to know your secrets any more than you need to know mine.”

 

“It's cold,” he whispered. “Why don't we go inside to bed?”

 

“You can go inside and get warm if you want, there's no real reason why you should be freezing out here too.”

 

“Come with me?” he asked. “I would make it worth your while.”

 

“Really?” Jack let a smile tug at his lips as he looked down at him. “How worth my while would you make it?”

 

“Not as much as you’re thinking.” Ianto kissed Jack's lips softly. “But it would still be worth it.”

 

“Why can't you make an offer like that when I can actually take advantage of it?” Jack groaned. “If I could take you up on that offer I would, but I really need to wait this thing out tonight.”

 

“It was worth a try.” Ianto settled back down onto Jack's chest and pulled the blankets back up to his neck.

 

“You can go.”

 

“Go inside and sleep when you're out here on your own with that thing out there? I don't think so.” 

 

The Captain rolled Ianto onto his back and pinned him gently with his weight, kissing his lips softly. Ianto pushed him off and turned around, turning his back to him.

 

“I knew there was a reason I was sleeping away from you,” Ianto said. “You can't be trusted.”

 

“You were all over me a minute ago,” Jack reminded him, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him back; his hands roamed underneath the Welshman's clothing and touched his stomach. “You can't make up your mind.”

 

“It's not my fault,” he argued. “You bring it out of me.”

 

“Maybe it's the environment," Jack said, leaning into his ear. “It's all very Brokeback; two men desperate to rip each other's clothes off even though they shouldn't. There's even sheep--”

 

Ianto turned around, glaring at him over his shoulder. “One word about Welshmen and sheep and I'm leaving you out here to freeze on your own."

 

“As if I would! You know you're far too touchy about that.”

 

A screeching noise from outside seemed to echo throughout the night and the two men froze.

 

Ianto was the first one to speak. “That wasn't a fox this time.”

 

“No.” Jack got up and put on his shoes, quickly followed by Ianto and ducked his head out of the tent.

 

One of the large beasts stood a few feet away from them; the wings were fully extended and it stood on strong legs, screeching at the top of its lungs. Behind it, partially obstructed from view by the wing, was a smaller beast that growled deeply and showed it's teeth.

 

“Not a fox,” Ianto said. "Definitely not a fox.”

 

“You think?” Jack looked up at the beats and backed away a little, then ducked inside the tent pulling the younger man with him.

 

“What do we do?”

 

“I'm not sure,” Jack whispered. "We have two options. We can run and have them chase us or--”

 

“We can fight them and have them kill us? Great plan.”

 

“All we have to do is stick something through their chest. Luckily, I came prepared.” Jack passed Ianto a sharpened stick.

 

“You're kidding me."

 

“I wish I was.”

 

“Do I look like Buffy the vampire slayer?” Ianto asked dryly and Jack opened his mouth to speak. “That was rhetorical.”

* * *

Gwen lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Iris had been so hurt to hear the truth and even more unforgiving than she had expected. She hadn’t spoken a word to her since they had talked in the Chicken coop and Gwen had a feeling she wasn’t going to change her mind. It had been so lonely in the house between Iris’ silent treatment and the others being out for the night, and as she lay in the bed she couldn't help but wonder if this was the last night she would sleep in a bed for a long time. 

 

Gwen’s gaze moved from the ceiling to the window when she heard a loud noise that sounded awfully like a shot being fired. She saw Mr Hughes in the courtyard, his arm hanging down by his side as he jogged back across the yard towards the house.

 

Grabbing the gun containing six of her last bullets and her torch, Gwen slipped on a dressing down and darted out the door. Running down the stairs, Gwen bypassed the last few and sprinted through the kitchen and out the back door, meeting Mr. Hughes outside. 

 

“What happened?” 

 

“Get inside!” Mr. Hughes pushed her back towards the house.

 

“Tell me what happened.”

 

“Just get in!” He ordered her towards the house, grabbing his arm with his hand. 

 

“You’re bleeding.” Gwen took the dressing gown off and wrapped the material around his arm. “What happened?”

 

“I don’t know exactly. I was on my way to bed and I heard a noise, so I went to have a look.” 

 

“Sit down.” She sat him down at the table, being careful to go back and lock the door behind them. “Press down on that as hard as you can, we need to try and stop the bleeding.”

 

“This thing jumped out from nowhere and the next thing I know it was on top of me.”

 

“What did it look like?” Gwen had a look underneath the material and instantly knew. “Big teeth, leathery skin by any chance?” 

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You’ll be alright as long as you get that cleaned up.” Gwen took her gun out from the pocket in her nightgown. “Where did you see it last?”

 

“It ran off into the barn after I shot it.”

 

“Stay here, lock the door after me and don’t open it until I’m back.”

 

“Where are you going?”

 

Gwen dashed off the direction of the door and Mr. Hughes followed, holding the material tight against his bleeding arm. 

 

“Back in the house,” Gwen ordered.

 

“Not until you tell me what you are doing.”

 

“I’m going to find it before it finds anyone else.”

 

“You can’t go out there,” he said, following her into the courtyard, grimacing from the pain. “It’s no place for a young woman.” 

 

“I’m used to them.” 

 

Gwen reached the door of the barn and turned on her torch before kicking the door open and shining her torch around. It wasn’t long before the light illuminated a Weevil standing at the far end of the building, its damaged leg dragging behind it as it crept closer to them.

 

“What the hell is that?” 

 

“They’re known as Weevils, but they dont usually come out this far, not that I’m aware of.”

 

“I’ll get my gun.”

 

“Never mind your gun.” Gwen said, shooting the Weevil twice in the head, hitting it right between the eyes. “That should do it.”

 

“You’re a good shot for--”

 

“A woman?” Gwen smiled a little, walking over to inspect it where it lay. “Was there anymore?”

 

“Not that I saw.”

 

“I’ll have to kill this one,” she said. “I don’t want it doing any more damage.”

 

“It looks dead to me.”

 

“They recover quickly.”

 

“We should get back inside,” he said. “I have something that I think belongs to you lot.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I found it in the field the night you came.”

* * *

Ianto and Jack pursued the beasts to the edge of the field; the tables had turned and by the time they had came out from the tent prepared to fight, the creatures had started to walk away. The smaller creature looked at it for a moment and screeched to the sky before turning around to face Jack and Ianto again. Its veins throbbed brightly and it spread out its wings, running towards them faster than either of them could have imagined. It launched itself at Jack, throwing him to the side as he made his way towards the Welshman.

 

Ianto didn't take his eyes of the beast, backing away as it edged towards him; his hands gripped the only weapon he had by his side, waiting for an opportunity.

 

“Jack!” Ianto shouted, “Jack are you okay?”

 

The creature edged closer to Ianto and when it launched itself at him, Ianto thrusted the pointed end of the stick through its chest. The flying beast fell to the ground with a thump and closed its eyes; the skin faded to grey and lay still. Ianto nudged it with the stick, safe in the knowledge that it was dead before turning to look in the direction where Jack had been thrown.

 

“Jack?”

 

Jack lay face down on the ground next to a large rock, his eyes closed and body limp.

Ianto walked towards him and got down on the grass, turning Jack over onto his back to look at him. He touched his hand to the blood on his head and watched as it coloured his fingers.

 

“Jack?” He shook him by the shoulder and when he got no response, pressed his fingers to Jack's neck, jumping back when he felt no pulse.

* * *

Tosh and Owen arrived at the Warehouse and marched past the police cordon. They walked inside the building and gasped at the large number of creatures, all growing, hanging from the ceiling and crouched in every corner. A few of them feasted on the body of a dead Weevil in the middle of the floor, ripping through the leathery skin easily with their sharp fangs.

 

“Oh my god!” Tosh gasped. “Where did they come from?”

 

“God knows.” Owen pointed out a group of smaller creatures. “But I think they’re breeding.”

 

“What are we going to do?”

 

Owen sighed, visibly giving in. 

 

“I'm going to have to call in UNIT; these things need taken in and God knows we don't have the space or the manpower to do it.”

 

“Maybe it's best.”

 

“They're going to have a fucking field day with this one!”

* * *

Ianto shuffled away from Jack's body and looked at the blood on his fingertips. He felt himself recoil away out of instinct, something in his mind that reminded him who exactly it was that was lying in front of him without breath or pulse. It was Jack, of course it was Jack, but something inside of him wanted to dismiss it altogether and deny it. He shook his head and tried to focus, wiping his hand on the grass next to him; he wanted to get rid of the blood, to dispose of every last trace of it.

 

He hesitated for a moment before slowly moving back towards the body. His fingers traced Jack's cheek, he was warm but slowly turning cold; his complexion was greying, his lips tinged blue. The world seemed darker than it had a moment before, and the daylight that started to glow on the horizon felt dull and empty. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he moved closer, shifting Jack's head into his lap and raked his fingers through his hair.

 

Suddenly, Jack's hand reached out and grabbed onto Ianto's thigh and a deep gasp escaped from his mouth. Ianto leapt back, dropping Jack's head from his lap and backing up against a tree; he gripped the trunk and glared at Jack open mouthed.

 

Jack pushed himself up off the ground and groaned, holding his head for a moment. He cracked his neck a little and sighed before turning to look at Ianto.

 

“Okay, so that probably freaked you out just a little bit.”

 

“You--” Ianto swallowed hard and moved his mouth a few times before his words would come. “You’re dead.”

 

“Not any more.”

 

“But I had your blood on my hands.” Ianto looked down to his fingers and the small traces that still stained his skin. “You weren’t breathing.”

 

Jack walked towards him carefully, the colour slowly returning to his lips as he moved closer. He reached out and put his hand on Ianto's cheek and he flinched a little.

 

“You were dead,” Ianto said. “You didn't have a pulse, you were going cold.”

 

“I can't die.”

 

“Everyone dies.”

 

“Not me. Something happened and now I can't.” He placed his hand on Ianto's cheek again, and this time he didn't flinch or move away. “I’m fine.”

 

“And you never thought of telling me?” he asked, pushing his hand away. “You didn't think that was the kind of thing that I should know?”

 

“You have to understand that most people kinda get a bit freaked out by it the first time. They just don't understand.”

 

Ianto froze for a moment and looked away from Jack's gaze before refocusing and looking him directly in the eyes. 

 

“I thought you were dead.”

 

“I'm sorry.” Jack stepped closer and wrapped his arms around him. “I wanted to tell you, but it's kind of hard to bring it into a conversation casually.”

 

“Who else knows?”

 

“Just Gwen.”

 

“Gwen knows?” Ianto pushed him away and took a step back to distance himself even further. “So, you can't tell me but you can tell her?”

 

“It wasn’t like that.”

 

“You don't trust me enough to know this, but you trust someone you've known for a few months?”

 

“She saw me die, I could hardly deny it.”

 

“When?” Ianto's tone was dark, and for a moment seemed almost unforgiving.

 

“When Suzie shot herself, she shot me first.”

 

“We should go back to the tent,” Ianto said, turning to walk away. “It's cold.”

* * *

“Do the mighty Torchwood need some help?” The Major jogged over to Owen with a smile on his face like a cat who got the cream.

 

“We just need a place to store these things. Our base isn't big enough.”

 

“I thought Torchwood were all powerful?” The Major smirked. “I thought there was nothing that you couldn't handle.”

 

“Yeah, yeah enough of the gloating mate; we have a situation here.” He led the Major under the incident tape and into the warehouse, opening the door. “There's probably eighty or ninety of these things, maybe more, and they're breeding.”

 

“Good Lord.” 

 

“Yeah. Exactly.” He turned to face the Major. “Now, do you think that you guys could pull your finger out of your arse and do your thing quick, my team still has analysis to do.”

 

“Where's Harkness?”

 

“He's handling another problem, you'll be dealing with me on this one.”

 

“I'm not sure you have authorisation.”

 

“I'm second in command, but if you would like me to call him all the way back just so you can see him nod and smile I can do that. But he won't be happy.

 

“No.” The Major sighed heavily and had a look around the space. “I'll get some men in here and kick the police cordon off, we can be more secure. We’ll get these things back to base.”

 

“Good.”

 

“We'll want to keep them for analysis of course.”

 

“Do what you want with them, just get them out my hair.” 

 

Owen left him and walked out of the warehouse towards Tosh who was sitting in the SUV checking the rift monitor on one of the screens. He got in and slammed the door.

 

“Did you talk to the Major then?”

 

“Yes, and he's a Major fucking arsehole.”

* * *

Jack lay down in the makeshift bed and felt Ianto shift beside him, rolling over until his head lay on his chest. The older man was curious and more than a little confused. how could someone walk away with fire in their eyes, and end up pressing himself up against like it had never happened fifteen minutes later?

 

“I need you,” Ianto said quietly. “I'm alone here without you and I really can't stand to be alone anymore.”

 

“You were never alone.”

 

“But for a minute there I was, I thought I had lost someone else that I needed.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“I thought that I was going to have to mourn someone else I cared for and I can’t do that.”

 

Jack sat up and Ianto moved too, sitting beside him in the tent. 

 

“The one good thing that will come out of this is that you will never have to.” He took Ianto's hand and held it between them, warming his cool skin with the pads of his thumbs. “I’m the only one who will have to say goodbye.”

 

“Jack--”

 

“If you knew how many people i’ve had to say goodbye to, how many people I have watched slip away, you would realise that my whole life is a curse, a never ending cycle of broken hearts, empty promises and new beginnings.”

 

“Do me a favour, Jack?”

 

“Anything.”

 

“Don't make me watch you die again.”

 

“I'll always come back.”

 

“But there'll always be that logical part of my mind that will think you're not.”

 

“I'll always wake up for you.” He kissed Ianto softly. “I would die for anyone, but i’ll wake up for you.”

 

“I'm tired.” Ianto turned around quickly and separated himself from Jack. “I need to sleep.”

 

Jack moved closer to the Welshman and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him back into his arms. 

 

“What did I say?”

 

“Nothing. I'm just tired.”

 

“Just like that?” he asked. “Suddenly you're tired?”

 

“Yes.” Ianto thought about pulling away but decided against it and settled into Jack's embrace. “You just need to stop saying things that make this situation worse.”

 

“How am I making things worse?”

 

“You just are.” Ianto felt Jack's lips pressing against his cool neck. “Please don’t do that.”

 

“Do what?”

 

“Don’t kiss me, not right now.”

 

“Are you okay?” Jack asked.

 

“I will be, I just need a little breathing space.”


	13. Chapter 13

Jack opened his eyes to the light of the sun streaming through the thin material of the tent. He had gone to sleep with Ianto beside him, curled onto his side with the blankets tucked underneath his chin, keeping distance. But when Jack rolled over to pull him close, the Welshman was gone, leaving nothing but a crumpled mess of blankets behind.

 

He got up and poked his head out the tent, finally spotting Ianto sitting a few yards away, his knees tucked into his chest, staring out at the horizon. 

 

“Morning.” Jack walked over to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. He expected him to move, but Ianto stayed still, staring out into the distance. "When did you get up?"

 

“I'm not sure," he said. "A while ago."

 

“Nice day, huh?” he asked, sitting down beside him. "No rain, clear sky and a hell of a view."

 

“I was really hoping I would wake up and the last few days were a figment of my imagination.”

 

“Wouldn't that be nice?”

 

“I even miss Owen,” Ianto laughed a little to himself. “Who would've thought that would ever happen?”

 

“I'm sure he misses you, too.”

 

“I wouldn't bet on it.”

 

“Are you alright, Ianto?” Jack asked. “Last night--”

 

“You can't die.” Ianto spoke before he could finish. It wasn't a question. It was a statement, a fact that he felt the need to say outloud.

 

“No.”

 

“Do you age?”

 

"I don't really know." Jack moved a little closer and took a deep breath; he hated answering those kind of questions. "Sometimes I notice things, like a line where there wasn't before or a grey hair, but nothing substantial.”

 

“So, you’ll stay the same and I wont?”

 

“Something like that.”

 

“Well isnt that just my fucking luck.” Ianto laughed bitterly to himself, shaking his head. “Charlie screws me over, Lisa is turned into a cyberman and now you-- why do I even bother?”

 

“If I could change it, I would.”

 

“But you can’t.”

 

"No." Jack put his hand over Ianto’s, lacing their fingers. “I find that it works better if you don't think about it.”

 

“I dont know if I can live that way.”

 

“I have to.”

 

“We should probably get back.” Ianto stood up, his hand moving away from his touch. "Gwen will be wondering where we've got to."

 

“Are we okay?” Jack asked, watching Ianto as he busied himself with dismantling the tent. "You're acting kinda weird."

 

“I'm not.” Ianto gave him a tight smile. “We just need to be getting back, thats all.”

* * *

"Owen?" Toshiko Sato typed away on two computers, looking between the screens as she called his name across the hub. "I found something you're going to like."

 

“What?" 

 

“I have a match on those bodies." 

 

Owen jogged over to her workstation, leaning over her shoulder as she continued to type away.

 

“Are they the missing person reports?” He asked

 

“No. A newspaper article from August 1901. Cora Abraham went missing during the night on July 8th, she was wanted in connection with a murder at the time, hence the lengthy article--”

 

“Not the shy type then?”

 

“She fits her description down to a tee and when you search police archive and cross reference the name, there's even a picture.” She turned the screen to show him, a satisfied smile finding her lips. “She was arrested in 1899, twice in 1900 and five times in 1901 before her disappearance."

 

“Busy girl.”Owen leaned over her shoulder, taking a closer look. “Yeah, thats is definitely our first Jane doe.”

 

“There were also five other people missing from around the same time, all with criminal records. One of them was one Robert Stevens. " She typed away at her keyboard until another picture dropped into the screen. “Look familiar?”

 

“Nice work."

 

"The other four victims have matches too. Harry Flannigan and John McKenzie - they were workers on a farm and went missing together on the 4th of July 1901, four days before Cora and Robert. And then Beatrice Hughes and Trevor King disappeared on the 12th." 

 

"That's a bit odd."

 

“On the surface, they're just random disappearances, but they all have an undeniable connection.”

 

“What's that then?”

 

“They all went missing within twelve days and they all disappeared in the same place.”

 

“That can't be a coincidence.” 

 

“Thats what I was thinking.”

 

“So, where were they last seen?" Owen asked. 

 

“40 miles from Cardiff, in a place called Crickhowell.”

 

"Well then, I think it might be time for a road trip."

* * *

“I have been looking for you two everywhere.” Gwen said, greeting Jack and Ianto as they walked into the kitchen. “I was starting to worry about you.”

 

"Told you," Ianto said. "We had our hands full last night.” 

 

“Those flying creatures came back,” Jack explained. “And they weren't happy.”

 

“I had problems of my own. So, do you want the bad news first or the good?”

 

"Bad." Jack and Ianto spoke in unison, then found themselves being led out of the back door and into the barn. The moment the door cracked open, the light illuminated the body of a Weevil, lying lifeless in the corner.

 

“We're forty miles from cardiff, what the fuck are Weevils doing here?”

 

“It does seem a little far out.” Jack crouched down to look the creature. “Was he alone?”

 

“I dont know. Also worth mentioning, Iris is onto us, Mr Hughes got attacked by a Weevil and we're getting kicked out in twenty minutes.”

 

“What's the good news?” Ianto asked dryly. 

 

“We’re not the only one with secrets. Mr. Hughes found this the night we ended up here.” 

 

Gwen took a familiar looking backpack from the corner of the barn and opened it up; it was a treasure trove of equipment containing several guns, monitors and spare ammunition. 

 

“Come to pappa!" Jack smiled, taking a look into the bag. "Why didn't he give it to us?"

 

"He didn't trust us," she said. "Apparently he thought they looked like something suspicious, so kept them back."

 

"Well, he's smarter than we gave him credit for." 

 

“The wonderful thing about alien technology is their lack of dependence on modern day human technology.” Ianto dove into the bottom of the bag to locate something, pulling out a handheld device. "Hopefully this will help us keep track of the rift."

 

“Is it working?” Gwen asked.

 

“It seems to be, although we won't really know until there's some rift activity for it to detect.”

 

“So, where do we go from here?" Jack asked. "We don't want to go too far, who knows what these creatures would do, not to mention the Weevils."

 

“You lot aren't going anywhere.” Mr hughes appeared in the doorway. “I told Iris that you stay as long as you need to fix things.” 

 

"Thank you," Jack said. "We'll sort this, I promise you." 

 

“These monsters, those beasts, they're all to do with you.” He walked further into the barn. "Now, I don't know who you people are or how you got here, but you're going to restore everything back to the way it was, or God only help you."

* * *

Owen manoeuvred the SUV along the country road, leaning on the window as Tosh stared out the glass at the trees as they passed by. 

 

"I hate road trips,” Tosh said. “There's never anything to do, at least when Jack was here he would tell us an interesting story to pass the time."

 

“Well, I did offer to play eye spy but you’re being boring.”

 

“I’m just no good at it.”

 

“Its not too far now anyway," he said. "We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

 

“I’m not getting any unusual activity.” Tosh looked at her monitor. "Nothing remotely interesting, all normal."

 

“Did you find anything more on those missing people?”

 

“Not much. They all went missing three days apart, no other links other than that and the area, but it's just too much of a coincidence."

 

"How do you figure that?" 

 

"If you factor in the estimated population at the time, six missing people correlates to 0.5%, which is the equivalent of 1,634 people going missing from cardiff today.” Tosh sighed and looked over at him. "Numbers don't lie."

 

“How do you just do all that in your head, Tosh?”

 

“I've always done it. You could say that it's my one true talent.” She smiled a little. “Kind of like your talent for picking up desperate women in bars on a Saturday night.”

 

“Low blow."

* * *

Jack walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him, then leaned on the doorframe as he watched Ianto; he was loading weapons on the bed, checking everything over with a keen eye. 

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"My job," Ianto said. "Checking they're all in working order and not damaged."

 

"And?"

 

"They seem fine, sir."

 

“Iris has banned us from dinner,” Jack told him, turning the lock in the door behind him, “Apparently she's still a little upset about the whole monster thing and they have guests arriving soon. We've been banished."

 

“Im not hungry anyway.” Ianto finished loading, then rummaged in the bag for the weevil spray. “I’m going out.”

 

“Where?”

 

“Keeping an eye out for Weevils,” he explained. “ If there was one theres probably more. They hunt in packs and I don't want anyone else getting hurt. The monitor seems to be showing a spike of activity, too so I thought I would check it out to be safe." 

 

“I’ll come with you.”

 

“No.” Ianto tucked his weapons into his jacket and walked over to him. “I need a bit of time on my own.”

 

“You've been on your own all day. In fact, you haven't said two words to me, you've basically been ignoring me every time I come close to you.” Jack sighed. "This isn't about time alone, this is about time away from me."

 

“I’m sorry.” 

 

“This is about last night, isn't it?” 

 

“Jack--”

 

“It's not exactly my fault, y’know?” Jack refused to let him finish. "I didn't chose it." 

 

“Its not that,” he said. “You didn't tell me." 

 

"I explained all that last night." 

 

"You didn't trust me enough," Ianto said, backing away from him. "But you trusted her."

 

"It wasn't like that.”

 

“It feels like that.” Ianto passed him, avoiding his touch as he tried to caress his face. 

 

"I wanted to tell you, I just didn't know how."

 

"If you wanted to tell me, then you would've found a way, but you didn't did you?" Ianto asked. "You just kept your little secret."

 

"And what about you?" Jack grabbed the Weevil spray from his hand, stopping him from leaving. "You could've mentioned that you were almost 130 years old, but you didn't."

 

"That's different."

 

"I trusted you, I just didn't want to freak you out. You had just lost Lisa, how the hell could I tell you that I couldn't die when you had lost someone you loved?" 

 

"This has nothing to do with her." Ianto avoided his gaze. "Don't you dare bring her into this."

 

"Did she know about you?" Jack asked. "This woman who you say you loved so much, did you tell her who you really were?"

 

"I was afraid she couldn't love me if she knew," Ianto admitted. "I was scared that she would see me as something to lock up in a vault, or put me into deep Freeze."

 

"I'm sorry." Jack took his hand, warming it between both of his. 

 

"I was so scared you would try to send me back into the rift like I’ve seen you do so many times. I wouldn't be Ianto Jones anymore, I'd just be an artefact and I couldn't bear for you to see me that way."

 

"Ianto, you know I could never do that to you." Jack kissed him softly.

 

"Don’t wait for me." Ianto took the spray from his hand and moved away, unlocking the door. "I’ll be late back."

* * *

"So, where do we start?" Owen leaned on the SUV, taking a moment to stretch his legs. 

 

"Beatrice Hughes was the only victim to be reported missing by her family. She was on her way to meet her cousin for dinner with her Fiancée, Trevor King when they just seemed to vanish. Her family looked for her for months, but nothing happened and she was never found. I've done a search for the family and as luck would have it, they're listed at the same address as the report." 

 

"That's handy."

 

"They run a guesthouse on the edge of the village, good ratings on trip advisor and £83 a night for bed and a cooked breakfast." Tosh had a look at the map. "It's not too far away." 

 

"Well, let's see if there's any room at the inn for a romantic getaway in the countryside."

Owen folded up the map and opened the SUV, hopping back into the driver's seat again. "Hop in."

 

"What?" Tosh got inside and shut the door behind her. 

 

"If we go in there and ask about a member of their family that disappeared over a century ago they're just going to think we've lost the plot. We'll go in, check for rift activity tonight and tomorrow we'll see if they know anything." 

 

"So, what's our cover story?" 

 

Owen started the engine, and started to drive back along the country road. "Mr. and Mrs. Harper, second honeymoon to escape from the kids?"

 

"Good story." Toshiko laughed. "And what's the story behind my choosing to marry you in the first place?" 

 

"I'm a Doctor, we get all the girls." 

 

"Even I don't believe _that_ story." 

 

"I saw you one Saturday night in a bar, you were sitting there on your own, black dress, perfect legs, nursing a glass of red wine," Owen concentrated in the road. "You were the most beautiful one there and you looked like you could do with some company. So, after we talked a bit and I bought you a few drinks, you fell for my charm, I told you all the right things and the rest is history." 

 

"That's a nice.”

 

"Yeah, well it's just a story, isn't it?" Owen said. "It's not real."

 

"Of course not." Tosh sat in silence for a moment. "I would never fall for your charm."

 

"And you much prefer white wine, but the rest is plausible."

 

"Why?" Tosh asked. "Because you're so cocky, you think I would actually fall for it?"

 

"No, because you probably would've been the prettiest girl there." He said. "You're the prettiest one in most rooms to be fair."

 

Tosh blushed, tucking a stray strand of hair back behind her ear.

 

"I brought the alien Lego we found on the other four bodies," she said suddenly. "Just incase." 

 

"And you say you would' fall for my lines?" Owen chuckled. "You're too easy."

 

"That was horrible." Tosh slapped his leg.

 

"Ow!" He laughed a little. "They're not going to have any problems believing we're married."

* * *

Ianto stalked the field, his gun poised as he went; there had been no sign of any Weevils and all rift activity had stopped, but he wasn't ready to go back yet. A sound echoed in the distance, a screeching that seemed to come from across the field and Ianto pursued it. 

 

Two creatures stood in front of him, not Weevils, but winged creatures like the ones he and Jack had seen the night before. They stood in front of him, each bigger than the others he had seen and looked at him, relaxing their wings to drag against the ground for a moment. Ianto stayed calm, staring at them as he walked slowly backwards, retreating towards the house.

 

The creatures matched his slow pace, stalking him like prey. They were getting closer to the house now, too close for comfort and Ianto look a chance; raising his gun, he shot one of them in the chest in the place he knew they were weakest and watched it fall with a hard thud. The second looked at it, now still and pale on the ground and raised its wings, standing tall. Ianto shot it three times, hitting the soft spot between its wings and saw it fall injured to the ground, dragging its wings towards him as he leant up against a tree. He took a final shot, emptying another bullet into its chest and the creature finally retreated, flying off into the darkness.

 

He dropped his gun and slipped down the tree until he was in a sitting position, clutching his chest out of relief. He took a few slow breaths, closing his eyes to calm himself. It worked for a moment and he was calm until a cool draft hit his face and he opened his eyes; the injured creature was back, flying at speed towards him, its mouth open as though it was planning on swallowing him whole instead of biting him. Ianto reached for his gun, but it was too far away from his fingertips to grab.

 

A sound came from behind him and Ianto witnessed something flying through the air, a metal arrow that sped past him, spearing the chest cavity of the creature. It dropped from the sky, landing in front of Ianto with a thud, exploding thick blue gunge onto his jacket.

 

Shocked, Ianto grabbed his gun and got up, inspecting the creature. He gave it a swift kick with the side of his boot, then crouched down to inspect the weapon that had killed it. It looked like it had come from a crossbow, or something similar and Ianto turned to face the direction it had come from. He saw a figure running away, heading towards the house and Ianto gave chase, following them into the old stable. It was dark inside and he drew his gun.

 

“Who’s there?” He called out, but nobody replied. "I know you're in here." 

 

He squinted to see in the dark, making out a familiar looking shadow.

 

“Jack?” he called. “Is that you?" 

 

"Who the hell is Jack?" A man came from out of the shadows, dressed in dark clothing. "Do I need to be jealous?" 

 

Ianto stood still a moment, shocked into silence as he stared at the other very familiar man, his heart beating just a little faster as he walked towards him. 

 

"Charlie?" Ianto asked; he felt like he was looking into the eyes of a ghost. "Is that you?"

 

"Who else would it be?" Charlie closed the gap between them and pulled him in by his arm, hugging him tightly. "How the hell did you get out?"

 

"It is you." 

 

"You're not supposed to break out for months yet!" He said. "I haven't sorted things for us, I haven't figured everything out."

 

Ianto said nothing, he just stood there wrapped up in Charlie's warmth, unable to move.

 

"I've missed you so much, though. I'm so happy to see you." Charlie pulled back from the embrace and kissed him softly. He pushed him into the darkness and Ianto responded to his touch instinctively, letting his lips devour him completely.

 

"What are you doing here?" Ianto pushed him away, forcing him off until he stumbled back.

 

"Working." Charlie picked himself up a little dazed. "I thought you must've followed me."

 

"Follow you?" Ianto grabbed him by his shirt, pushing him up against the wall, then drew him gun and pressed the barrel to his head. "I wouldn't follow you anywhere!"

 

"What are you doing?" Charlie looked into Ianto's eyes, more angry than he had ever seen them. "What's got into you?"

 

"I loved you." He pressed the gun against his head, applying pressure until he saw Charlie wince a little. "I trusted you."

 

"And I love you." He tried to fight back, but found himself overpowered as Ianto pressed him against the cold wall behind him again. "What are you doing?" 

 

"You wouldn't know what love was if it jumped up and bit you in the arse." 

 

"I don't understand." 

 

"You left me," Ianto growled. "In another century on my own!" 

 

"What?" Charlie pushed him back, grabbing Ianto's wrist to move the gun away. "What on earth are you talking about?"

 

"Four months from now, you leave me there." 

 

"I would never do that to you, I swear it!"

 

"Really?" Ianto pushed him again, forcing the gun back against his temple. "I've been trapped in the next bloody century because of you. I just got to a place where I was fine. I had Jack and we could've had something, but instead I'm back here in hell where everything is impossible."

 

"What is going on?"

 

"Should put a hole through your head, but you're not worth the bullets."

 

Ianto withdrew his gun, pushing Charlie away from him. He let him rest for a moment, watching him stumble to his feet before he let his fist come into contact with his jaw, knocking him down to the ground. After a moment, Charlie pulled himself to his feet, touching his split lip to wipe away a little blood. 

 

"I've never seen you like this and I don't like it." He kept his distance. "You've never hit me before, I’ve never seen you hit _anyone_ before."

 

"People change," Ianto said. "You told me that we were going to make a better life and you sent me away. You promised me that you would follow me and we would be together but you never bloody showed up, did you? 

 

"I'm sorry." Charlie edged a little closer and took his hand. "But I must've tried, something must've gone wrong."

 

"You didn't. I checked the archive for signs, reports, any clues that you tried, but you didn't." 

 

"Maybe I die?" He suggested. "It's the only way I'd leave you like that."

 

"No, you survive." Ianto shook his head. "You get married, you have kids and then you leave Torchwood. You die an old man and forget all about me."

 

"How did you even get here?" He asked suddenly. "Did you find a way back just to punish me?"

 

"I didn't chose to come back here, why would I when I have a perfectly good life in a time where you don't exist?"

 

Charlie put his hands on Ianto's shoulders, and found his gaze. "How did you end up back here?"

 

"We were perusing activity, following a signal on a device."

 

"We?"

 

"Me, Jack and the rest of the team," Ianto explained, finally finding a little calm inside of himself. "There was a device and it sent us here, but we can't get back." 

 

"I'm sorry."

 

"And now here you are." Ianto looked at him, an air of confusion clouding his features. "What are you doing here?"

 

"Didn't you see the big bloody alien dragons I just stopped from tearing you a new one?" Charlie asked. "I was following up on a report. I didn't know you would be here, then when I realised it was you I thought you followed me."

 

"I have to go and get Jack," Ianto said. "I have to tell him that you're here."

 

"No." He pulled Ianto back when he tried to leave. "Nobody else can know that I'm here."

 

"You can help us." 

 

Ianto broke away from his hold and started to walk out of the stable only to feel something pulling him back. Charlie wrestled him down, kicking the back of his knees to get him onto the ground, then pressed him into the stone with his weight. Taking a tin container out of his pocket, he pulled out a syringe and held it between his teeth while he held him down.

 

"What are you doing?" Ianto panicked and grabbed his gun, firing a blind shot.

 

"I'm sorry." 

 

Ianto felt a needle press against his neck, puncturing the skin, then the world went hazy and turned to black.


	14. Chapter 14

Owen and Toshiko jumped out if the SUV and looked at the house in front of them. It wasn't at all what they were expecting. The website had described it as a ‘ _traditional building_ ’ that had been in the family for generations, ‘ _surrounded by farmland and idyllic countryside_ ’, but the view from outside was really very different. It looked like fairly new building with large double glazed windows and UPVC doors, the brickwork was a crisp shade of orange and the sign on the front, although obviously good quality, was made of a shiny, decidedly un-traditional plastic. 

 

"This is why I never trust tripadvisor," Owen said. "Traditional my arse!" 

 

"They must've rebuilt it." Tosh scanned the area, pointing her device towards the house. "I'm not picking up on anything. It just looks like a standard house to me." 

 

"Boring."

 

"I need to see if there's any of the original house left to scan. The report said there had been a sighting of Beatrice yards away from the house an hour before her sudden disappearance, so it's worth checking the area for radiation and activity." She turned around to scan the land behind them. “It’s the only lead we’ve got, so I want to make sure we investigate it fully.”

 

"Well then." Owen offered his arm to her, gesturing towards the house. "Should we see if there's any room at the inn?" 

 

They walked down the driveway until they got yo the house, then ventured inside and approached the desk, pressing the doorbell like the sign instructed. 

 

"Can I help you?" A tall woman appeared at the desk. She was neatly dressed and in her late sixties, her hair groomed into a perfectly sculpted blonde bob. 

 

"Yeah, we were wondering if you had a room for a few nights?" Owen spoke first, flashing her a polite smile. 

 

"Of course." She typed something into a computer. "We have three rooms and our suite is available."

 

"We were expecting a much older hotel, your website said it had been in your family for generations." He looked around the reception area, complete with a trendy looking bar. "It doesn’t look very old."

 

"We knocked most of it down before it fell down, but all our rooms are in keeping with original features and in fact our suite, out in the barn, is an actual barn, erected in 1879." She smiled. "It's been updated of course, but we managed to salvage some of the materials from the original build."

 

"Is that available?" Owen asked. "That sounds like it's just what we're looking for." 

 

"It's always available," she said. "My husband thought it was a wonderful idea, but most people don't want to sleep in a barn. Looking back, it was a bit of a waste of money."

 

"Well I think it sounds lovely." Tosh said. "Don't you, Owen?"

 

"Yeah. Barns. Great." 

 

"It's a bit more expensive than our other rooms."

 

"That's alright," Owen said, producing the Torchwood credit card. "Can't put a price on romance."

* * *

Gwen knocked on Jack's bedroom door and waited. She hadn't seen either of them since lunch and the last thing she wanted was to walk in on something she wasn't prepared for. After a moment of waiting, the door opened and Jack stood in the doorway.

 

"I've brought you some tea," Gwen said, holding up three cups. "Mr, Hughes said he managed to sneak it out while Iris wasn't watching."

 

"How is their little dinner party?" Jack stepped aside and let her in, then shut the door behind them. 

 

"They didn't show up. Mr. Hughes said she saw her at the far end of the field walking along with her fiancée, but never turned up for dinner."

 

"That's weird,” Jack said. “Don’t you think that’s odd?"

 

"Not really. Judging by the description of her I bet she's blown them off to go and have a sneaky shag somewhere."

 

"I know what I would choose."

 

"Speaking of sneaky shags," Gwen said, looking around. "Where _is_ Ianto?" 

 

"Hunting." Jack took a drink of his tea, sitting up against the headboard. "The rift monitor showed a spike, so he went out Weevil hunting."

 

"On his own?"

 

"He took his gun and Weevil spray, he'll be fine."

 

"What if the bat-dragon-scary-looking-dog-things come back?" 

 

"He'll handle it," Jack said. "He's not a child, he knows what he's doing. "

 

"Why aren't you more worried about him?"

 

"I'm constantly worried about him, especially here.."

 

"Then why didn't you go with him?" she asked. "We could've all gone?"

 

"He wanted some time on his own." Jack sighed, looking down into the steamy depths of his tea. "Apparently he doesn't want to be around me right now." 

 

"What happened?" Gwen sat next to him, putting her tea down for a minute.

 

"I died last night."

 

"Shit."

 

"Yeah.”

 

“I can’t imagine that going down well.”

 

“He thinks that I didn't tell him because I don't trust him, which is _ridiculous_. So hopefully he'll find a Weevil, get all his rage out and come back happier." 

 

"Rhys does that," Gwen said with a smile, leaning back against the headboard again. , "Although it's usually pool or bowling rather than aliens."

 

Jack laughed. "That does sound like far more normal thing to do."

 

"He'll storm off, then come back three hours later pissed as a fart, we'll make up and all is right again." 

 

"I don't think I've ever had a relationship that normal." Jack sighed. "What's it like?"

 

"It's nice," she said. "I miss him so much, Jack."

 

"I know."

 

"And-- I feel so guilty about all the lies."

 

"Sometimes you have to lie." 

 

"I lie about work and it's okay, I can tell myself it's just protecting him. It's the other stuff."

 

"Other stuff?" Jack asked.

 

"I'm shagging Owen behind his back," Gwen confessed.

 

"Oh, _that_ other stuff." 

 

"How could I do that?"

 

"People make mistakes," Jack acknowledged. "I know I've made plenty in my time."

 

"But Owen?" She groaned. "Owen?!"

 

“He has a certain charm.”

 

“That’s not the point though, is it?”

 

"Do you love Rhys?" He asked, turning to face her a little. “Really?”. 

 

"I used to doubt it sometimes, wondering if I was just settled because it was easy, but now I know I do."

 

"Then maybe you should just stop shagging Owen." Jack suggested simply.

 

"Yeah, I should. I will." 

 

"Problem solved then."

 

"I wish it was all as simple as all that."

 

"Torchwood is a very strange place to work," Jack said. "You spend all your time with these people, these _really_ good looking people and you’re on an adrenaline high all the time. It’s the danger, the excitement and the very close quarters. After a while you can’t help it, you get attracted. It's natural."

 

"It is?"

 

"Sure! I'm attracted to _all_ of you and given the chance, I would probably--"

 

"Jack Harkness, you filthy bastard!" Gwen shoved him so hard he almost fell off. "What are you like?"

 

“You have no idea.” Jack laughed. "You know when it's different though, you can feel the difference between attraction and something else. It just doesn't shift, y’know?"

 

"Do you love him, Jack?" She asked. "Ianto?"

 

"This is really more of a liquor conversation than a cup of tea conversation."

 

"I could go and steal some if you like?" She suggested. "Then by the time Ianto gets home all riled up from Weevil fighting, you'll be pissed and you can just both have an amazing make-up shag." 

 

"I very much doubt that's going to happen, as much as I would like it to." Jack looked up at the ceiling. "the things we would do if we were back home. _God_ I miss our little 21st century debauched society."

 

"You're filthy!"

 

"So is he." Jack sighed, relaxing back . "You have _no_ idea!"

 

"I was surprised how good a kisser he was." She smiled. "Quite the dark horse if you ask me."

 

Jack laughed. "Go steal us some thing stronger than tea."

 

"Now you're talking!"

 

A sound in the distance shocked them both out of their relaxation; a loud bang that echoed through the field behind the house.

 

"What the hell was that?" Gwen asked.

 

"Sounded like a gunshot." Jack said, jumping off the bed. "Screw the whiskey, we're going after Ianto." 

 

They darted out the room, scrambling down the stairs and through the house, then out the kitchen door into the courtyard. They looked around and Jack drew his webley from his holster. 

 

"It came from the old stable." Mr. Hughes said as he approached from another direction and as they looked over, saw a tall slim figure dashing towards one of the fields. 

 

"I don't like the look of that," Gwen said. "I'm going after him, you two go and check the stable."

 

“Don’t let him get away,” Jack said, shouting to gwen as they ran off in different directions. “Use any force necessary!”

 

Jack and Mr Hughes ran towards the old building, bursting through the entrance, then stopped. Ianto lay still on the on the ground, his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open.

 

“Good God!” Mr. Hughes walked over to his side, crouching down beside him to feel for his pulse.

 

Jack froze in the doorway, his gun slowly dropping from his grasp. 

 

“He's still with us." Joseph said, slapping his face gently. "He's out cold, but he’s okay.”

 

“Ianto?” Jack went to his side and got down on his knee, pulling his head into his lap to look at him, then shook him by the shoulder. “Ianto?!”

 

"I'm going to go and get the Doctor, you get him in the house and lock the door. I'll be back as quick as I can."

 

"Ianto?" Jack nodded as he left and took hold of the lapels on Ianto’s jacket and shook him. "Come on!" 

 

"He was too fast, he just got away from me." Gwen appeared in the doorway, leaning on her knees as she tried to regain her breath. She took a moment before looking up. "Oh my god." 

 

"I should’ve followed him." Jack stroked his cheek, his skin was hot to the touch. "Now look at him."

 

"Is he breathing?" 

 

"Just." 

 

“What do you think happened?” She got down on the floor, searching his body for a wound. "Did he shoot him?”

 

"I don't know."

 

"He's not injured, there's no sign of a gunshot." 

 

"Why didn’t I follow him?" Jack asked, looking down at the younger man as he lay still in his arms. “He was just so determined and I thought it would do him some good. I should’ve followed him.”

 

"Jack--"

 

"I just let him go."

 

"Jack!" She stood up, helping Jack to drag him to his feet. "Let's get him inside."

* * *

Owen opened the door to the barn, staring at the large double bed in the middle of the room. The floor was still original stone and the walls were exposed, a large skylight providing some much-needed light It looked like a barn, albeit a nice one. 

 

"This is nice." Tosh said, putting her bag down on the ground. "Cosy, don't you think?"

 

"Yeah." Owen looked at the champagne in an ice bucket and took it out. "Cheap champagne, though." 

 

"Well we're not here for the champagne, are we?"

 

"No, but there's no harm in drinking it anyway." 

 

"I suppose not." Tosh sat down on the bed, leaning back on her hands. "So, where do we start?" 

 

"Let's check the grounds for anything weird."

 

"I'll check the barn and the perimeter, you have a look inside the main house. Then we'll search the surrounding area together."

 

"Sounds like a plan." Owen took one if the monitors from Tosh. "Keep your comms open. I don’t trust the fucking countryside.”

* * *

Ianto lay still in the middle of the bed, a blanket covering him up to his middle; his breaths slow and strained, his eyes still closed. Jack looked on as the Doctor examined him, his fingers pressed nervously to his mouth.

 

“Well?” Jack urged. “What’s wrong with him?”

 

"He's a very sick young man."

 

"I could’ve told you that!”

 

“Jack!” Gwen slipped her hand over his shoulder. “Let him do his job.”

 

“Are you seeing him?” Jack asked. “How can I just sit back and look at him like that?”

 

“You don’t really have a choice.” 

 

Jack slumped down in the chair in the corner. 

 

“Do you have any idea?” Gwen asked the Doctor. “Is he going to be alright?”

 

"I can only guess at some kind of poisoning." He looked at his eyes. "Severe I would say judging by his lack of response and the puncture mark would suggest it was injected, so it’ll be into his blood. His blood pressure is through the floor, his temperature is sky high and his pulse can’t decide what it’s doing.”

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“I’ve never seen a reaction like it,” He said putting away his stethoscope. “He’s a mystery.”

 

“Well, that helps,” Jack mumbled. 

 

“He’s breathing on his own, but it’s a fight he might lose if he gets any worse." 

 

"Is he going to survive?" Jack asked. 

 

"I don't know." He said, fastening his bag back up. "He needs to go to the hospital in town, they'll take care of him there."

 

"No," Jack shook his head. "He stays here." 

 

"He really should go." 

 

"He's not going anywhere!"

 

"Jack." Gwen took his arm to calm him. "Let them take him."

 

"No. He stays here." Jack stood up and pulled gwen into the corner of the room by her arm. "Nobody can know he's here."

 

"What's going on, Jack?"

 

"It's complicated, but he has to stay." 

 

"Even if it means losing him?" 

 

"Yes." 

 

"If you're not going to let him go, then there's nothing more I can do," the Doctor said. "Keep him comfortable and call for me if he gets worse." 

 

“Thank you, we’ll take it from here.” 

 

Jack opened the door for him and let him leave then shut it behind him. Gwen’s fit met his jaw as he turned and Jack felt his body move backwards a little, stepping back to right himself. 

 

“What is wrong with you?” Gwen spat. "I don’t understand you, Jack!" 

 

"He's in more danger if people know he's here." 

 

"What if he's dying?" she asked. 

 

“I know what he would want." Jack sat down on the bed and took his hand. “He’s stronger than you think. He’ll get through it.”

 

"Y'know for a minute, when we were up here and I was talking about Rhys, I thought I saw a recognition in your eyes. I thought, maybe you're not as cold hearted as you seem and that you could actually be capable of love." 

 

"Things aren't that simple

 

"He deserves so much better than you, Jack Harkness!”

 

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

 

“If he gets through this, I really hope he realises it." Gwen walked towards the door and opened it, then looked back at him. “You deserve loneliness for every minute of your pathetic existence.”

* * *

"I've found nothing in this barn.” Toshiko’s frustrated voice filtered through the comms system. “Not a single thing. It’s a complete waste of my time and effort.”

 

“Well you’re being positive.” Owen smiled a little. “Nothing on your readings then?”

 

"All normal. Yours?" 

 

"Nothing to write home about." 

 

"I'm going to do some further research on our victims just to see if there's anything more leads and I've done a search on their names in the archive just in case. If anything matches it might give us more to go on." 

 

"If it's from far back there won't be anything on the system,” Owen said. “It'll just be in a box in the archive somewhere gathering dust." 

 

"Ianto scanned a lot of documents in, he said he wanted to go paperless eventually. I saw him doing it a few months ago.”

 

“Good old Ianto.”

 

“He looked like he was having the time of his life." 

 

"Yeah, well his idea of fun is _far_ different than mine." 

 

"Are you almost finished?" She asked. "We could go and have a look around the old paddock if you like?"

 

"I'm hungry,” Owen said. “Are you hungry?”

 

"Starving! I haven't really had anything since breakfast." 

 

"They’ve got a little restaurant over here if you fancy it?" 

 

"Alright." 

 

"I'm almost done so why don't you put on something nice and meet me over here in twenty minutes."

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

Are we going to check the paddock tonight?" Owen asked, walking with Tosh across the courtyard towards the barn. "Or should we just go to bed and start early in the morning?"

 

"Well," Tosh sighed. "It _is_ quite late, but if we found a lead tonight we would be one step closer to finding them tomorrow."

 

"We've worked non stop, Tosh.”

 

"I know"

 

"I’m knackered. We deserve a night off."

 

Tosh nodded in agreement. "Is that why you bought me so much wine?" 

 

“Maybe a little bit.” Owen laughed. "You looked like you need it." 

 

"I did." 

 

"Don't expect it all the time, mind. You're not a cheap date."

 

"Some of the time would be nice, though." Tosh said, looking at him as she walked. "Wouldn't it?"

 

"I think I could live with that." 

 

"But first thing in the morning we search the paddock."

 

"Yes! Yes we will," Owen agreed quickly. “Before breakfast.” 

 

Tosh opened the door to the barn and walked inside, slipping her shoes off her feet. She sighed heavily, looking at the pile of paperwork scattered across the bed in the middle of the room. She and Owen had enjoyed a pleasant evening, full of wine and food; it had been a long time since either of them had found the time to do anything remotely normal and Tosh felt a little guilty to say the least.

 

“We _are_ going to find something, aren't we?" Tosh asked out of the blue. 

 

"We have to. This is our only lead." 

 

"And what if it turns up empty?" 

 

"I don't know." Owen sighed, walking across the room to meet her. He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “We have to find something eventually.”

 

"I miss them, Owen.” Tosh confessed, her voice a little weak. “I miss the way Gwen always fought for things she wanted, and how Ianto always seemed to have everything organised and in place.”

 

“Yeah.” He sighed, pulling Tosh into a hug that he could see she needed. “Me too.”

 

“Jack was always so good at telling me it would be ok and that we would get through things." she let her head fall against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his back. It was the closest to Owen she had been in a long time and the warmth of his skinny frame was comforting. “He’s not here and I don’t know if it will be okay.”

 

"Tosh, it is ok." Owen put his hands on Toshiko’s face, moving away a little to look at her dark eyes. "We _will_ get through this."

 

"I'm scared, Owen."

 

"If anyone can crack this, it's us." 

 

"I want to believe it."

 

"Then believe it.” Owen pressed a kiss against her forehead. “It's just you and me and we have to believe, or we’ve got nothing.”

 

Tosh nodded, tears falling. “Okay.”

 

Owen kissed her lips softly, moving away a little before kissing her again; Tosh slipped her arms around him, pulling him close and they kissed for a third time, slow gentle kisses giving way to harder desperate ones. Owen walked her backwards a little, pressing her body up against the cold wall of the barn. Their hands found each other’s bodies in the dark, peeling off the layers of unwanted clothing.

* * *

Jack knelt on the floor beside Ianto’s bed and held his hand, his head resting his hot skin.The younger man was sweating as his temperature rose and there was little Jack could do; he had already put a cold flannel on his head and removed his clothing, hoping that it would bring his body temperature down, but his attempts had failed. 

 

Ianto stirred a little, low painful moaning sounds escaping his lips and Jack sat on the edge of the bed, his hand resting against his cheek.

 

"Ianto?" Jack called his name softly. “Ianto?”

 

"Charlie?" Ianto mumbled.

 

"It's Jack."

 

"No.” Ianto’s head rolled on the pillow, moving from side to side slowly. “Charlie." 

 

Jack kissed his lips softly, waiting until Ianto opened his eyes to look at him. "It's me,” he said softly. “It's Jack."

 

"You came back?" Ianto’s voice was weak, barely more than a whisper as his bright blue eyes found Jack’s gaze. 

 

"I never left." 

 

"Where's Charlie?"

 

"I don't know.” Jack’s heart broke a little. “But _I’m_ here.”

 

"In my head," Ianto murmured. "I see him inside my head."

 

“In your head?”

 

Ianto opened his mouth to speak but lost his strength and closed his eyes, slowly drifting back into unconsciousness.

 

"Ianto!" Jack hit his face lightly, trying to wake him again. "Come back."

 

Thoughts of Charlie flooded Ianto’s mind, flashes of his face, his hands, his lips disappearing into white pulsing light, pulling him back and forward. He could feel his hands shaking and his body convulsing, bouncing between light and dark as he fought against the memories. He could hear Jack’s voice pulling him out of the darkness, his hands gripping his shoulders firmly. He wanted to go back to him but he didn’t know how, his mind didn't know how to get to him.

 

"Ianto!" Jack called his name again, his hand caressing his cheek. 

 

Suddenly, Ianto opened his eyes, his hands wrapping around Jack’s wrist. "I'm going to die."

 

"No." Jack shook his head. "No, I won't let you."

 

"I feel it," Ianto said, his head relaxing back down onto the pillow.

 

"Feel what?"

 

"The darkness."

 

"We're going to fix you, you're going to get through this."

 

"It’s him," Ianto said. “It’s _all_ him.” 

 

"Who?" 

 

"Charlie." 

 

"What the hell did he do to you?" Jack caressed his cheek, pressing a soft kiss against his lips. 

 

"I can feel it inside.” Ianto bolted upright, a sharp feeling inside his stomach that felt like someone was twisting his organs together with a metal clamp. "I can't stand it."

 

"I'm going to kill him,” Jack promised darkly. “I'm going to find him and I'm going to fucking kill him." 

 

"No." Ianto grabbed him, blindly taking hold of his shirt. "I need him. He's the one that sends me to you. If you kill him it will change everything." 

 

"I'll find a way to help you." Jack kissed Ianto’s lips softly. "I promise, you just have to hold on a little bit longer."

* * *

Toshiko held a device in front of her, the display flashing a pulse of steady blue light as she walked through the paddock alone. She had woken up with Owen beside her, his heavy arm draped over her back as he slept beside her. It had taken a lot of careful movements to limbo out of his hold without waking him, but she had managed it. Without making a noise she had slipped on her clothes, put a bush through her hair and escaped out the door to avoid being there when he woke. 

 

It was early in the morning, maybe not even six o’clock, but Tosh was bearing the cold to search for something, anything to give them a lead. She was halfway through combing the paddock when she heard Owen’s voice coming from behind her and cringed inwardly. 

 

"I've been looking for you everywhere."

 

"I didn't want to wake you, so I just started without you." She walked away from him, unable to look him in the eye. "I haven’t found anything though." 

 

"Did I just immagine last night?" he asked, following her. 

 

"No."

 

"So, we did shag then?" He asked. “Twice?”

 

"Owen--" Tosh sighed, walking a little faster, paying closer attention to the device in front of her than she needed. 

 

"Are we going to talk about it?"

 

"No." 

 

"Well, I'm glad we've cleared that up because I was afraid it might be awkward." He stopped her from walking, clasping his hand on her shoulder. "Tosh?"

 

"I think we should start to see what we can find out from The family,” she said, “I'm coming up with nothing." 

 

"So, that's how you want to play this?” Owen sighed. “You just ignore it completely?"

 

Tosh climbed out of the paddock, being careful not to catch her foot on the fencing. "We have more important things to do. Last night shouldn’t have happened.”

 

“But it did.”

 

“It was selfish.” Tosh sighed and looked at him finally, her gaze dropping away as soon as it had found his face. “We are supposed to be trying to get them back, not having dinner and wine and--”

 

“Amazing sex?”

 

“Owen--” 

 

“Admit it!” Owen followed her, jumping over the fence to pursue her as she made her way back from the direction they had come from. “At least admit that it was bloody good sex!”

 

“Fine” Tosh sighed. “It was good, but it doesn’t matter. We shouldn’t be thinking about ourselves, we should be thinking about Jack and Gwen and Ianto.”

 

“It’s all we have done for _days_ , Tosh. We were just unwinding.” 

 

“I dont want to unwind!” Tosh snapped. “I just want them back.”

 

“Tosh--”

 

She wriggled out of his grasp, storming off towards the barn. “Don’t touch me.”

* * *

"You want me to do _what_?." Gwen stood in the field with Jack, holding his gun in her hand.

 

"You heard me. Right in the head!" 

 

"As much as I think you bloody deserve it, why?"

 

"I reported a Weevil attack to the police this morning, telling them there was a dead body in this field. Torchwood should be here at any moment and we don't have a body for them to find,” Jack explained. “So, I just need you to shoot me between the eyes.” 

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"Torchwood poisoned Ianto, so only they know how to fix him.”

 

“Torchwood?” Gwen asked. “Why?”

 

“I don’t know. Now are you going to help me or not?"

 

"Fine.” Gwen gave in and raised the gun in front of her, aiming it at Jack’s forehead. “Stand still."

 

Squeezing the trigger, Gwen fired the gun and watched the bullet as it passed through his head, exiting out the other side, blood splattering on the ground as he fell. She looked at him, his eyes open, his lips parted a little; Gwen Cooper would never get used to seeing him that way.

 

It took another bullet and ten more minutes before Torchwood finally arrived; two men marched into the field and pushed past her to get to him. 

 

"Torchwood!” Charlie breezed past her, followed by another man, slightly shorter and stockier. “Step aside will you Miss?" 

 

"Oh, don’t mind me, it's not like I exist or anything." 

 

Charles crouched down, putting his doctors bag on the ground and opened it; he retrieved a stethoscope and put it in his ears, looking back at Gwen for a moment. "Get her away please Henry."

 

"We're going to need you to step away from the scene, Miss." Henry said, pushing her out the way. "This is no place for a young lady."

 

"I'll young lady you in a minute--"

 

"You're quite the little--"

 

"Little what?" She cut his sentence off before he could finish it. 

 

"Just step aside," he finished.

 

"Please?" she suggested sweetly.

 

"Please."

 

"Alright then, all you had to do is ask." Gwen stepped back, watching the two men as they crowded around Jack’s body, twice dead. 

 

"Well, someone doesn’t like him," charles said. "Poor fella took a bullet right through the temple." 

 

“Painful.”

 

He looked at him closely. "No sign of a Weevil attack though, which is good news really. We've already had flying monsters out here, if Weevils were coming out I'd worry what was really happening." 

 

"Should we take him back to base?"

 

"No." Charlie said, closing his bag again. "Dump him somewhere and let someone else deal with it, this doesn't look to have anything to do with us and we don’t have the time." 

 

“We could just leave him here?” Henry suggested. “We can just report a death and they’ll do all the work for us.”

 

“Good thinking. You go back to the village and report it in, I’ll make sure she doesn’t remember anything.”

 

Henry ran off in the opposite direction, leaving Gwen and Charlie with Jack’s lifeless body.

 

“Miss?” Charlie turned around, still kneeling on the ground. “I’m going to need you to give a statement.”

 

Jack woke up gasping, grabbing Charlie by the throat and wrestled him down to the ground, taking him by surprise.

 

“Stay down!” Gwen pointed Jack’s revolver at him, backing up Jack just in case. 

 

"You must be Charlie." He held him against the ground. "Captain Jack Harkness, I wish I could say it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

 

"You recover quickly."

 

"I'm lucky that way." Jack gave him a smile, then pressed him further into the ground.

 

"So, _you're_ Jack?" He asked, fighting against the hand on his throat. "I can see what he sees in you. Ianto always did like a little rough play.”

 

"What did you do to him?" Jack demanded. “What did you give him?”

 

"He'll be fine," he said. "Frankly, I think you're overreacting."

 

"Overreacting?" Gwen snarled, taking a few steps closer to threaten him a little more agressively. "I'll shoot _you_ next." 

 

"What?" Charles looked between them. 

 

"He's dying!" Gwen said. "Whatever you did is killing him and if he dies, I can guarantee you that Jack here will finish you in the _most_ painful way he can think of." 

 

"What are you talking about?" Charlie fought against Jack’s, only to find his grip intensify. He choked a little, trying to release the older man’s grip with his fingers.

 

"Ianto," Jack said. "Whatever you gave him is slowly killing him."

 

"Show me.” Charlie couldn’t manage many words through the tightness of Jack’s grip. 

 

“No. I want you to tell me how to help him, I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

 

“I can’t breathe,” Charlie struggled. “I--I--” 

 

“Jack?” Gwen said carefully. “He’s looking a little blue and I don’t think he would come back from the dead quite as well as you might.”

 

“He’s got time.” Jack stared at him, watching the younger man gasp without finding breath. “I just want to see how long it takes to bring him to the brink.”

 

“Jack!” Gwen warned. “You’re going to kill him!”

 

“I wish.” Jack watched him closely, his breath hard as he pressed his fingers into the younger man's neck. "Just a little more pressure."

 

“Jack!”

 

“Fine.” Jack sighed and released his grip a little, watching him as the colour returned to his face. 

 

Charlie took some deep breaths, looking over to Gwen to give her a silent thank you before closing his eyes to regain his breathing. He tried to push Jack’s hand away from his throat, but he didn’t have the strength. 

 

“Tell me how to save him, or I will squeeze the life out of you and take pleasure in it.” Jack didn’t un-grit his teeth to speak. “So. Much. Pleasure.”

 

“I would tell him,” Gwen said. “I don’t think I could persuade him a second time.”

 

“How can I help him if I can’t see him?” He asked, his steady breath returning. “I need to examine him.”

 

“You know what you gave him.”

 

“Take me to see him!” He found the strength to push jack off him, then grabbed a revolver from his own belt to threaten him, pressing Jack into the mud. “Or do you want to die again?”

 

“Fine.” Jack stood up. “But you don’t see him alone.”

* * *

Owen marched into the barn and slammed the door behind him; if it hadn’t been reinforced he was sure it would have come off. He looked at Toshiko as she sat at her computer, typing away into one of the Torchwood programs.

 

“Do you never answer your phone?” he snapped

 

“I have no signal!”

 

“You need to come with me.” He grabbed her hand and yanked her up. “Come on.”

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“I found something you’re going to like.”

 

Tosh picked her bag up as he dragged her through the room and out the door. “What is it?”

 

“Wait and see.”

 

Owen marched her over to the paddock and helped her over the fence before guiding her behind a tree. He pointed at the large circle of burnt earth complete with black spirals.

 

“It’s like the one we found in the warehouse,” he said. “The radioactive licorice.”

 

Tosh smiled. “It’s almost identical and that’s not a coincidence.” 

 

“That was my thought.”

 

“It’s full of radiation,” she said as she scanned it. “No wonder nothing is growing here.”

 

“Cause?”

 

“God knows, but we need to find out. I’m going to take a sample of this earth and see what we can find out about it.”

 

“Good plan,” Owen said. “Package it up, we’ll go back to the hub and run tests after we’ve talked to the family to see if they know anything.”


	16. Chapter 16

Charlie followed Jack through the house and into the bedroom. The room was dimly lit and warm, with a bed in the middle and a table on either side. Inside the bed lay a familiar figure, stripped to his waist with a sheet pulled to his middle; Ianto was so still, the only movement was the slow rise and fall of his chest.

 

“See?” Jack dragged him over to the bed by his coat. “Look what you did to him?”

 

“I don’t understand.”

 

He sat on the edge of the bed and pressed his fingers to Ianto’s neck to find his slow pulse, then reached inside his case for a stethoscope and listened to his chest. His heartbeat was uneven, racing one minute and crawling the next. 

 

“Well?” Jack asked impatiently. “What are you going to do?”

 

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.” Charlie stroked his face. “I don’t understand it.”

 

“Well, you did it. You fix it.”

 

“No. No I didn’t do this.” He looked at the puncture mark on his neck. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

 

“What did you inject him with?” 

 

“It was just a standard solution, I’ve never had any problems with it before and I’ve been using it for months.”

 

“What were you trying to do?” 

 

“I just wanted to wipe his memory,” he explained. “It’s what we do. If we see anyone, we make them unsee us.” 

 

“And kill them in the process?” he asked. 

 

“No!” 

 

“Take a look at him and tell me that you’re sure about that.” Jack gripped Charlie’s face roughly and turned it to look at Ianto’s face. “Look at what you did!”

 

“I didn’t mean to do this. I love him and he loves me--”

 

“Not anymore,” Jack growled in his ear. “He doesn’t love you.”

 

“Does he love you?” Charlie asked, then smiled when Jack fell quiet. “Exactly, you’re nothing!”

 

Jack drew his gun and pointed it at his head, pressing the barrel against him roughly until he groaned. “Help him!”

 

“I can’t help him if you’re pointing a revolver to my head!” Charlie snarled. “Just let me work and step back.”

 

“Fine.” Jack took a few steps away. “But if he dies--”

 

“I’m not going to let him die.” Charlie pulled out a three bottles out of his bag and drew up three syringes, emptying the first into his neck. “I can fix this, just give me time.”

 

“Do it, or I’ll kill you and I mean that literally!”

 

“I believe you. You were the one choking the life out of me, remember?” He emptied another syringe into Ianto’s neck. 

 

“I remember.” Jack pressed his fun to the back of Charlie’s head. “Give me one excuse to do it and I'll take pleasure in blowing your brain out of your eye sockets.”

 

“You're a real charmer,” Charlie said dryly. “Y'know when I saw you I thought, _God_ that's a handsome corpse, I wish we had met when he was still breathing and we could’ve had some fun, but now I don't see the attraction.”

 

Jack leaned in to whisper threateningly into his ear. “I’m losing my patience with you.”

 

“Did you have any?”

 

“If I didn’t you would’ve choked to death out in the field.”

 

“So why didn’t you?”

 

“I promised Ianto I wouldn’t kill you.”

 

“Then you should keep your word.” He pushed Jack’s gun away from his head before slipping the final needle into Ianto’s neck. “Put it away Captain and calm down, this last injection should help neutralise the solution.”

 

“Now what?” Jack put his gun away, glaring at the back of the younger man’s head.

 

“Now we wait.”

 

“How long?”

 

“As long as it takes.” Charlie pulled a chair up beside the bed, then took Ianto’s hand in his.. “I want to be here when he wakes up. I want my face to be the first thing he sees.”

 

“He hates you,” Jack said. “You _do_ know that, don’t you?”

 

“Yes, he told me that as he was pointing a gun to my head. Teach him that, did you?”

 

“No.” Jack leaned on the wall. “That’s all his own work.”

 

“He never used to be that way.” Charlie stroked Ianto’s hand. “He used to love me, he used to be calm and he wouldn’t have even thought about hurting me, not for a minute.”

 

“Yeah, well that was before you abandoned him.”

 

“I haven’t even done it yet. He can’t be mad at me for something I haven’t even done yet.”

* * *

Tosh and Owen walked into the hotel reception, heading directly towards the desk.

 

“Just follow my lead,” Owen said as he rang the bell.

 

“Hello?” The woman smiled warmly as she approached. “Is everything alright with your room?”

 

“Oh, yeah yeah that’s all fine. We just had a few questions for you really about--”

 

“Local knowledge,” Tosh interrupted. 

 

“Anything that I can answer I will.”

 

“The field beside the paddock has a burn mark on it, has there been a fire there recently or something?” Tosh asked. 

 

“Oh, no thats just dead soil. It's been there for as long as I can remember.”

 

“Thats it?” 

 

“Yeah, more or less. I don't know exactly how it ended up dead, my Gran had some theories about it," she chuckled. "But she had crazy theories about most things.”

 

“Your grandmother?”

 

“Great grandmother,” she corrected. “She was quite imaginative to say the least in her latter years.”

 

“What did she think?” Toshiko leaned on the desk in interest. 

 

“Oh, all kinds. Aliens, dragons, time travelers - all living in her house.” She let out a small chuckle. "I loved her, but by god she spoke some rubbish."

 

“I think it's fascinating.”

 

“It was all her imagination. She started writing them all down when she went into the home. She claims she had just forgotten about it. Charlie made her forget she always said." She laughed. "How could you just forget like that? You couldn't could you? Not things like what she was saying anyway, poor thing. You've got to feel bad for her really, but she was happy and when she died she was almost a hundred and thought she had lived an amazing life, even if it was all in her head."

 

"So she wrote stories?" Toshiko questioned. "Were they any good?"

 

"No, not stories," she said. "Journals."

 

“Do you still have them?”

 

“I--why?” The woman asked. "I mean, I do but I don't see why you think they're so interesting."

 

“We told you that we were a couple staying for the weekend, but we haven't been totally honest with you.”

 

“You haven’t?” The woman stepped back a little and crossed her arms. “What do you mean?”

 

“My name is Toshiko Sato and this is my colleague Owen Harper, we came here because we had heard urban legends and conspiracies about this area and we're writing a book about it."

 

"A book?"

 

"Yes. it would be interesting to read her journals.” Tosh smiled. "If you let us use it there would be a payment made of course. Anything from five hundred pounds to three thousand depending on how useful the information is." 

 

“That much?" The woman smiled. "For an old ladies ramblings?"

 

"We would need to see them first, of course."

 

"Oh, of course! I’ll go and dig them out for you if you like?”

 

“That would be wonderful, thank you."

 

"Don't expect much though, she was well into her nineties when she wrote them." She said. "Poor love had dementia at the time. She had a bit of a hard time telling the difference between real life and make believe."

 

"It'll be nice to read them."

 

"Why don't you wait in the bar and have a drink, I'll get the waitress to bring over some complimentary beer and wine while you wait. Just give me twenty minutes."

 

"Thank you." 

 

“That was amazing," Owen smiled, leading Toshiko over towards a table in the quiet corner of the bar, his hand resting in the small of her back. “I mean, I told you to follow my lead and you completely ignored me, but it was a smart move.”

 

“I think she bought it.”

 

“I think _I_ almost bought it. Remember to remind me never to believe a word you say." 

 

"It all sounds promising though, doesn't it?"

 

"We're cracking it, Tosh." Owen leaned across the table and took her hand. "We're close and I know it." 

 

Tosh smiled a little. “It would be nice to have an actual lead.”

 

“We’re a good team, you and me.”

 

“We always were.”

 

“I never realised.” Owen soothed out the skin on the back of her hands with his fingers. “Is it too late?”

 

“It’s never too late, Owen.”

 

The waitress arrived and Owen slipped his hands away quickly, taking a long drink of the free beer that appeared in front of him; beer was always better when it was free.

 

"So, she thought that people were living in her house?” Tosh said, returning back to the subject at hand as she turned the glass by the long stem. “That’s odd.”

 

“It’s not the oddest thing to happen.”

 

“Dementia though?" Tosh said, thinking out loud. "That complicates her memory, doesn’t it?"

 

"Or unlocks it." Owen leaned in, lowering his voice. "Let's say her memory was wiped somehow by this Charlie bloke, right?"

 

"Retconned even?"

 

"Yeah. Well if this Charlie, whoever he was, erased her memory it would lie dormant buried deep into her subconscious, hidden away. She forgets all about it until _bam_ , she gets dementia and all of a sudden her brain isn't working in the same way. The things she should remember are locked away and the things she’s not supposed to remember come to the surface as vivid memories." 

 

"Intriguing."

 

"Yeah and bloody scary, too."

 

"Why?"

 

"This has Torchwood written all over it and if this is true and she was Retconned and she has _remembered_ it, we could be in deep shit when all the people we've retconned lose their faculties." 

 

"Scary thought." Tosh leaned back in her chair to consider it. “

 

"I wonder who Charlie is?" Owen thought out loud. “It’s a very common name.”

 

"I'll do an archive search." Tosh typed something into her handheld device. "I'll search Charles and Charlie and see what turns up."

* * *

Ianto groaned as he returned to consciousness; his insides felt like they were burning, but it wasn’t as bad as before. The warmth of a hand in his cheek kept him calm and he reached out to touch it, he couldn’t manage to open his eyes, they felt like they had metal weights keeping them closed, but the touch was comfort enough to calm him.. 

 

"Jack?" He whispered, slipping his hand over the hand that rested on his cheek. 

 

"Everything is going to be alright."

 

Ianto’s calm disappeared, fading away quickly as he recognised the voice. It wasn’t the voice he had expected. The gentle Welsh accent sounded soothing, but Ianto felt everything but calm. He managed to force his eyes open, fighting the blurry images until he could see him clearly. 

 

"It's ok, Ianto." Charlie said, his fingers caressing the rough skin on his cheek. "You're going to be fine."

 

"Get off me." He tried to find the strength to move away, but he couldn't muster it. "Get off me!" 

 

"It's me," he soothed. “It’s fine.”

 

"Get off!" Ianto managed to push his hands away. "Where's Jack, what have you done with him?"

 

"I'm right here." Jack said, appearing beside him.

 

"Get him away from me!”

 

“You heard him.” Jack dragged Charlie out of his seat. 

 

“Ianto--” Charlie backed away slowly. "I'm sorry.”

 

"You tried to bloody kill me!' 

 

"No."

 

"To be fair," Jack interjected, smugly.. "You did do a good impression of it."

 

"It was an _accident_."

 

"Well, it didn't feel like a bloody accident to me!" Ianto managed to sit up a little, leaning up against the headboard as he glared at his old lover. "You distracted me and put a needle into my neck!"

 

"Yeah, and you threatened to shoot me!" Charlie argued.

 

"And I should have while I had the chance!" 

 

"You wouldn't do that and you know it."

 

"Why not?" Ianto asked. 

 

"You love me."

 

"You're wrong," Ianto said, his eyes dark, his voice angry "I don't even _like_ you."

 

"You seemed to like me when you were kissing me."

 

"You kissed him?" Jack asked. 

 

"Don't start." Ianto sighed, closing his eyes. "Just get him out, I don’t want to see him."

 

"Ianto--" Charles started to speak.

 

"Leave!" Ianto commended. "You're good at that."

 

"If that’s what you want?”

 

“Go.”

 

Charles picked up his medical bag and took one more look at him before walking towards the door. He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and walked out, closing the door behind him.

 

"What was he doing here, Jack?" Ianto asked darkly.

 

"He saved you." 

 

"He needn't have bothered. If I'm going to be stuck back in this time I think it’s better if I was dead, at least it would save me the bother of being hunted." 

 

"I'm not going to let them hurt you." Jack sat down on the edge of Ianto’s bed and kissed his lips softly. “I promise.”

 

"I'm scared, Jack."

 

"I know." Jack climbed Into bed with him and held him close, letting him rest his head on his chest. He slipped his fingers through the Welshman’s hair and stroked it. “Get some more sleep.”

* * *

Owen and Tosh sat in the barn, heavy rain tumbling down noisily onto the skylight above them as they lounged on the bed in the middle of the room. 

 

“This is torture.” Owen sighed as he turned one of the pages. “She doesn’t half ramble. How are you doing?”

 

"I've managed to narrow down the search to 800 results." She groaned, flopping down onto the bed. "It's going to be a _long_ night."

 

"This old bird has awful handwriting," Owen moaned. "You don't think your translation program would work on it, do you?"

 

"Unless it's in an actual foreign language, then no."

 

"Bugger."

 

"Anything interesting?" Tosh put down her computer for a moment an rolled onto her side to look at him.

 

"Yeah." Owen handed her the leather bound journal he had been reading and pointed to a page. "Check this out."

 

"The beasts were terrifying, like something out of a story book. Their wings could have wrapped around me three times and their eyes were as large as the palm of my hand. Had the Captain not come in at that moment I'm sure the dragon would have made me into it's next meal." Tosh lowered the book slowly. "That's Jack!"

 

"Yep. And _they're_ our dragons."

 

"We really need to find out who this Charlie is."

 

"Yeah, I'd say he's the key to this."

 

"Does she mention dates at all?" Tosh asked, handing the book back.

 

"It's a bit all over the shop, but she mentions that it's a new century like fifteen times, so I'd start with 1900 and work from there."

 

"I'm not sure that's going to help much,"

 

“It’s a start.”

* * *

It was early when Jack woke up the next morning, just past five, and the sun was just starting to cast an orange glow over the landscape. He had slipped out of bed, given Ianto a quick kiss on his temple and made his way outside to stretch his legs. His walk had taken him into the courtyard and towards the field when he saw a figure leaning on one of the fence posts.

 

"Good morning!" Charlie greeted him cheerfully, walking over to him with his hands inside his pockets. “You’re up early.”

 

"You again?" Jack sighed. “What do you want?”

 

"How's Ianto?"

 

"A lot better, no thanks to you.”

 

"Can I see him?" Charlie asked hopefully. 

 

"He doesn't want yo see you.” Jack continued to take his walk, slowing a little to let the other man walk along beside him. “I’m sorry, but he just wants to forget you even existed.”

 

"I just want to check him over." 

 

"The doctor came late last night,” Jack explained. “He's doing fine." 

 

"I couldn’t sleep last night,” Charlie confessed.

 

“You and me both.”

 

“I couldn't help thinking about him and why I would just leave him like that.” Charlie sighed and looked down at the ground. “It took me a long time to get it.” 

 

"And?" 

 

"You need to come with me," he said. “Right now.”

 

"Oh, sure!” Jack said with mock enthusiasm. “You abandon someone you supposedly love in a whole different century, then you try to kill him and wipe his memory, so you _seem_ to be the trustworthy type."

 

“You've done worse things."

 

"Meaning?" Jack stopped to look at him. 

 

“Your name sounded familiar, so I researched you.”

 

“1901?” Jack thought a bit, then winced. “Not a fun time for me.”

 

“You’ve been with us a while, but you haven’t done a lot of work. You seem to spend your time flouncing around, getting into trouble and taking our money,” Charlie said. “Hardly the best we’ve ever had, the only appeal seems to be that you can’t be killed.”

 

"Flouncing?' Jacked asked in disbelief. 

 

"Then there’s the version of you we have in our morgue.” Charlie said, ignoring his protest. “Would you care to explain that?”

 

“I can’t actually.” Jack sighed. “My timeline is quite complicated.”

 

“I would never have guessed.”

 

“But we've never met,” Jack said. “And we don’t."

 

"No,” Charlie agreed, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I think I would _definitely_ remember meeting someone like you."

 

"Why have I never met you?” Jack asked.

 

“Maybe you’re just unlucky.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“We don’t have a lot of operatives like you who come in and out when they please,” Charlie said. “Some of us are actually busy, working in the field instead of flouncing around and flapping their cape like a bird in a cage.”

 

“Again with the flouncing?” Jack asked.

 

“Oh, you’re going to deny it?” Charlie smirked. “You don’t think you _flounce_ , just a little bit?”

 

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

 

“You still flounce,” Charlie mumbled. “They all say so.”

 

“Well flouncing aside, I’m not an operative, I’m freelance. I make my own rules and keep my own timetable.”

 

“Well, you don’t seem so freelance anymore.”

 

“Torchwood is mine now,” Jack explained. “I run it very differently.”

 

"Do you?"

 

"Yeah.” He slipped his hands into his pockets, staring at the younger man with a hard gaze. “We don't poison people to within an inch if their life anymore."

 

"You _know_ that was an accident."

 

"Well, sure. I have no reason not to trust you implicitly," Jack said. “You’ve proved yourself to be such an upstanding citizen so far.”

 

"I can give you a reason to trust me, but you need to come with me."

 

"What reason?"

 

"I can't discuss it here,” Charlie explained. “You need to come with me."

 

“Where?”

 

“Cardiff,” he said. “I need you to come to Torchwood.”

 

“No way.” Jack shook his head defiantly. “I know this Torchwood too well, I know what you do there.”

 

“No harm will come to you, you have my word.”

 

"Okay, I’ll play.” He sighed. “I'll go and get the others. Where I go, we all go."

 

"No, just you. That's the deal."

 

"Why?" Jack asked suspiciously.

 

"Why not?”

 

“I can think of a million reasons.”

 

“What do you think I'm going to do?” Charlie laughed. “Kill the unkillable?”

 

“I'm not interested,” he said, turning to walk away. "Thanks for dropping by, Charles. I'll tell Ianto you said goodbye.”

 

"If you want to get back, you need to come with me.” Charlie called after him. “Alternatively you can stay here forever, cross your own timeline, put Ianto in danger and never find your way back. But, it really is up to you."

 

"What are you saying?" Jack turned back. 

 

"We can't talk here, but I can save you."

 

"Save me?"

 

"I can send you home,” Charlie said simply. “All of you.”

 

“Okay, so _now_ you have my attention.”


	17. Chapter 17

"Owen!" Tosh tried to shake him from his sleep, grabbing his shoulder firmly.. "Owen!"

 

"What?" Owen mumbled, grabbing onto the pillow he had buried his face into. "This better be good."

 

"I found Charles."

 

Owen sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Really?"

 

"Yes. Charles Rodger Wilson, born August 29th 1873 in Newport. Joined Torchwood as a medical officer in 1895, married Elizabeth Conway in 1904 and then retired in June of 1905, two months before the birth of their first son. He died in 1959." Tosh looked pleased with herself. 

 

"Thanks for the bio." Owen leaned back against the headboard. "So, it's safe to say Charlie-boy Retconned her."

 

"Yes." Tosh yawned. "It only took me six hours."

 

"Get into bed." He pulled the covers back and patted the space. "You look knackered."

 

"I didn't get to the interesting part."

 

"Get in first," Owen said. "And that's an order," 

 

Tosh took off her dressing gown and slipped inside, covering herself over quickly. "This is odd."

 

"What is?"

 

"This whole situation," she said. "We're working in bed and it's weird, but it doesn't feel weird."

 

"Isn't that a good thing? I mean we've been alone for the best part of a week and we haven't murdered each other yet."

 

"So much has happened in the last few days." Tosh sighed. “It’s just so strange.”

 

"Yeah, I know.” Owen turned to face her, propping himself up on his elbow. “So are you going to enlighten me about the interesting stuff?" 

 

"Oh,". Tosh put her glasses back on and brought up a screen on her computer." Charlie monitored Iris From July 16th 1901 until January 16th 1902, which seems to be more or less in line with Torchwood amnesia procedure at that time. Retcon was new and they didn’t want to take any chances. Then she disappeared off the system completely until, in October 1971 a lady called Iris Foster appears--"

 

"That's a gap and a half."

 

"They were called out to Rosehill house nursing home after reports that she was talking about Torchwood in her sleep, screaming about Weevils, by name."

 

"That's interesting." Owen leant over her shoulder to look at the screen. “That’s _very_ interesting."

 

"And yet, not over. She appears again in 1979, two weeks before her death when Torchwood Retconned her again."

 

"Why?" Owen asked. "She must've been in her nineties by then--"

 

"Ninety eight to be precise."

 

"Why the hell would you retcon someone in their nineties?"

 

"I don't know, but I was reading through her diaries and she keeps mentioning a nurse called Geraldine, so I think we should pay Geraldine a visit and see if she knows anything."

 

"That's not much to go on to find her."

 

"The home is still open," Tosh said. "It's the same company and probably still keeps basic records, of course Geraldine will be old now, that's if she's still alive, but I think we need to peruse it."

 

"God, you're good."

 

"It's my job, Owen." Tosh took her glasses and closed her laptop. "Anyway, If it wasn't for Ianto and his OCD about having everything on the database, we would be nowhere."

 

"We should get some sleep. We'll drive out to the home in the morning."

* * *

Charlie dropped a box down in front of Jack and sat down opposite him; it was strange being back in early Torchwood, especially in such strange circumstances, but as Jack looked at the man sitting across from him, he knew it was necessary.

. 

"This came through the rift at some point,” Charlie explained. “Torchwood found it in wasteland just outside of Cardiff nine years ago and it stayed a mystery for eight years, until eleven months ago, the box just popped open.”

 

“Temporal lock?” Jack said knowingly. 

 

“It appears so.” Charlie opened the box and took out two thick silver rings, engraved with intricate designs. “On the surface they looked like jewellery, but they’re far more advanced than that.”

 

“Aliens do like camouflage.”

 

“There were ten of these in total. Ten rings, ten tracking devices and five base units.” 

 

Jack inspected one of the devices closely, paying close attention to the three dots carved into the design. “What do they do?”

 

“We weren't sure at first, we spent months trying to figure it out and when we did we couldn't believe what we had discovered.”

 

“And what was that?”

 

“Well, they seem to be a type of rift key,” he said. “They open the rift and create a temporary portal.”

 

“Nifty.” 

 

“They absorb everything within a six foot radius and I _mean_ everything.” Charlie stood up and crossed the room, picking up a decanter and filling two glasses with the contents. “They come as a matching set, though.”

 

“I don’t drink.”

 

“The keys each have a corresponding tracking device and one base unit between two.” Charlie placed a drink in front of him anyway. “We think they were made to act as a return ticket. Two groups would go, do what they need to do and return. The box had enough for five missions, unfortunately we only have two rings left.” 

 

“From ten?” Jack asked.

 

“We used two in a trial six months ago, but once you use them and return they're useless. They absorb themselves into the skin and disappear. Then six keys, along with four base units and six trackers were stolen.”

 

“Stolen?”

 

“Unfortunately, yes.”

 

“That’s awfully embarrassing for you,” Jack said. “Who took them?” 

 

“We’re still working on that.”

 

“So, how come they didn’t steal _all_ of them?” Jack asked.

 

“I’m a selfish man, Jack.” Charlie confessed. “I don’t always do the right thing.”

 

“You kept them for yourself,” he said knowingly. “Why?”

 

“One for me, one for him.” Charlie looked down at one of the rings. “My plan is to send him, then cover my tracks, wipe out some evidence, totally destroy any records of our existence and follow him.”

 

“I get it.” 

 

“When Ianto told me that I didn't follow him, I couldn’t understand why, but now I do.” Charlie put one of the rings into Jack’s hand. “You need this, you need to take him home.” 

 

“I don't understand.”

 

“It was my fault that he ended up with me and living in hell and I want to protect him.” he said sadly. “My selfish side doesn’t want you to know there’s a way back if I can’t follow, but I want him to be happy and safe; he’s neither of those things here.”

 

“How does it work?”

 

“You put the key over your finger and it sort of clamps down, then after that you have 40 seconds before the rift opens and everything gets sucked in. The ring then becomes part of you, merging with your skin and into your flesh until you’re ready to return. We think the design is intended to ensure nobody can steal it and stop you returning.”

 

“That’s very smart technology.”

 

“Yeah.” Charlie sighed. “So you take him home and I use the other to send him away and that’s all the keys used. No more trips.”

 

“So, if we do this, you can’t follow Ianto?” Jack asked. “That’s why you never turn up?”

 

“That's right. We'll be separated forever with no hope of ever finding each other again.” 

 

“You really _do_ love him.” Jack said, slipping his hand over the other man’s shoulder. 

 

“I do.” 

 

“I hate to admit it, but you’re a good man, Charles.”

 

“I’d like to think that you would do the same thing.” Charlie took out a tracking device and handed it to him, taking a deep breath. “You need this for it to work, but once you get there you need to destroy it. If it synchronises with the base unit you end up in the past without a way back.” 

 

“I’ve seen these before,” Jack said as he inspected it. “There was two dead bodies, mauled to death by a Weevil, they had the trackers hanging around their necks. We followed the signal and activated the device and that’s how we ended up here.”

 

“Well, looks like you found two of our thieves.”

 

“Yeah, unfortunately for them so did the Weevils.”

 

“That's the only drawback,” Charlie told him. “They’re a little bit cursed. The rings omit a fragrance that appeals to some life forms, it makes them a target." 

 

“That would certainly explain why Ianto is so successful in the Weevil hunt department.” 

 

“And it also explains the dragons. When the rift opened, they must’ve taken on the scent and found their way through.”

 

“So when we’re gone, will they go too?”

 

“They’ll probably follow you,” he told him. “We’ll monitor the village for a while, just to make sure they’re all gone and do a clean-up operation. Give me a few days to do another test on our amnesia dose though, I don’t want what happened to Ianto to happen to anyone else.”

 

“Y’know, in the future, we have it in pill form.” 

 

“Really?” Charlie smiled. “That's a lot more convenient.” 

 

“Can you make it safe?”

 

“It’ll be safe,” he promised. “Just give me a day or so.”

 

“The Hughes have done a lot for us, I don’t want them hurt in any way.”

 

“I’ll ensure their safety.” 

 

“Thank you.” Jack smiled. “I appreciate it.”

 

“Just make sure you take care of Ianto.” 

 

“I will,” Jack said. “I promise.”

 

“I’ll come with the key once the amnesia dose is stabilised.

 

"Thank you. “ Jack stood up and offered his hand to the younger man, who took it and shook it firmly.

 

"Jack?" Charlie called him back before he could leave. 

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Is Ianto good?" He asked. "At Torchwood."

 

Jack sighed. "We've had our ups and downs. He's done some really stupid stuff, but he's also done some very brave things, too. He’s loyal."

 

"And good with a gun." Charlie added. 

 

"I trained him myself."

 

"We should get you back, they'll be starting to wonder where you've got to."

* * *

Owen and Toshiko jumped out of the SUV and took a look around the quiet street; Tosh led the way, looking at door numbers as they passed until they found number twenty-six. she stood at the gate, looking at the small bungalow in front of them. It was pretty and well kept, with a neat lawn and a rose bush on either side of the door. A gnome greeted them at the gate with a sign that said _’welcome’_ and next to it a lazy stone cat with glass eyes licked its front paw. 

 

"Are you sure this is it?" Owen asked.

 

"Seems to be. She's the only Geraldine Howard in the area and said on the phone that she worked at Rosehill.”

 

"She might not even remember anything. She's 88." Owen opened the gate for Tosh, letting her through before closing it. "She's going to think we're trying to con her out of money or something on dodgy double glazing."

 

"Just because she's old, it doesn't mean she's senile,” Tosh said, waiting for Owen to catch up with her at the front door.

 

"Yeah, but there's a better chance."

 

"Be nice!" She warned

 

"I'm always nice!" 

 

Toshiko knocked on the door and waited. "Then be nicer." 

 

"Hello?" An elderly lady appeared in the doorway, holding herself upright with a walking frame. "Can I help you?"

 

"Yes." Owen stepped forward a little. "I'm Dr. Harper and this is Toshiko Sato, we spoke on the phone?"

 

"You're younger than I was expecting," she said as she manoeuvred herself backwards to let them in. "Come in and shut the door, I'll pop the kettle on."

 

The house was neat, but cluttered, with trinkets everywhere and a pile of old newspapers in a neat stack beside the door. The woman moved slowly on her way to the kitchen and Owen and Tosh exchanged glances.

 

“This is going to take forever,” Owen whispered. “She’ll be eighty-nine by the time she makes the tea.”

 

“Shh!” Tosh warned. “Be nice.”

 

They followed her into the kitchen and Toshiko smiled kindly, taking the kettle out of her hands to fill it. Owen tried to be nice and helped her down, sitting beside her; he listened to her talk about her grandchildren for a while, pretending to care about David and his wife Claire who had just emigrated to Australia while Tosh clattered around behind them. 

 

After five minutes or so, and once Geraldine had ordered Owen to open a pack of Jaffa cakes she kept for ‘special occasions’ and put them on a plate, they sat down together at the kitchen table.

 

It was times like this that Owen missed Gwen and Ianto. Ianto was so good at making tea, throwing out a charming smile or two to flatter little old ladies while Gwen would get to the point at the same time as sounding genuinely interested; faking interest wasn’t Owen’s forte, and judging by the tea he was drinking, preparing beverages wasn’t one of Toshiko’s strengths either. 

 

“So--” Owen gave her his best, ‘I-care-I-really-do’ smile. “This is a lovely kitchen.”

 

“It’s alright, sweetheart.” Geraldine lay her hand over his. “You’ve buttered me up enough, so let’s just cut to the chase and talk about this book of yours.”

 

“When we spoke on the phone--”

 

"I don’t know how you expect me to help you," she said. "I'm not really much of a conspiracy theorist.”

 

"No, but you did know a lady called Iris Foster?" Owen questioned. "She mentioned you in her diaries from her time at Rosehill House."

 

"I knew Iris, but you're going back a very long way Dr. Harper."

 

"We were just hoping you could help us clear up some of her theories." 

 

Tosh turned a page in her notebook, poising her pencil in preparation. "Anything could help," she said. “Why don’t you just tell us a little about Iris, what you remember about her.”

 

"There's not that much to say really,” Geraldine explained. “She was a lovely lady, but her mind was quite far gone when I started working with her. She seemed to relive a very short period of time in the week leading up to her father’s death.”

 

“In what way?” Toshiko prompted.

 

“Oh, just the same stories going around in her head over and over. She would say that she had ghosts living in her house. Well, I call them ghosts, she thought they were real.”

 

"And said they lived in her house?" Owen asked. 

 

"Three of them, two men and a lady. Iris was very fond of them, but there was another man she spoke about, too.” Geraldine took a drink of tea. “Oh, now she didn't like him at all, not one bit!" 

 

"Would that be Charlie?" Owen asked. 

 

"That's right. She thought he had stolen her mind.” She sighed a little. "It was all a figment of her imagination, of course. I asked her family about it time after time and they just said that none of it was even close to being true and they didn't even know of any Charlie. But Iris was adamant. In the end she got so obsessed about it all that her daughter just got too upset to visit anymore."

 

"That's awful,” Tosh said sadly. “It must have been very hard for her family.”

 

“Oh, it was. But that’s not unusual in the circumstances.”

 

“Did anyone else visit Iris?” Owen asked. “Other than her family?”

 

“Sofia,” she said. “She came every week for three years and they were very close. She listened to everything and entertained all of her theories. All the stories about the dragons and the time travellers and the Weevil monsters. She was there the day she took her bad turn.”

 

“Bad turn?” Owen prompted.

 

“It was so strange. One day Sofia came, everything was fine and Iris was in good spirits, but when she left she said she was sleeping. When we went in and woke her she was gone.”

 

“Gone?” Tosh asked. “She was dead?”

 

“No, she was alive and everything, but she had lost all of her stories,” Geraldine said. “it was like they had just dropped out of her mind.”

 

“Do you have any idea why?” Owen pushed his tea aside. “Did the Doctor look her over?”

 

“Oh, yes. That afternoon her private Doctor came with Sofia,” she said. “He said it was a stroke and then a few weeks later she was dead. But, I’ve never seen a stroke effect anyone in that way before.”

 

“So you didn’t think it _was_ a stroke?” Tosh asked. 

 

“I wasn't qualified to say otherwise.” Geraldine sighed. “That’s all I can tell you about Iris really. She was a nice lady; lovely manners, wonderful sense of humour, beautiful face and not a bad bone in her body. I hope you’re not going to make her out to be a crazy lady, because she wasn’t. She was just suffering from an awful disease.”

 

“Of course not.” Toshiko patted the woman’s hand. “She believed it was all true and we wouldn’t think about damaging her character.”

 

“Well, I’m sure you two are very busy.” Geraldine smiled and stood up. “Thank you for coming by.”

* * *

Jack sneaked into the house in the dark, creeping up the stairs. He wasn’t sure how it had taken him quite so long to take care of things in Cardiff, but he had been away a lot longer than he had anticipated. Slowly he opened the door to the bedroom, looking down at the bed where Ianto lay on his side, sleeping soundly. He undressed quietly in the dark, stripping down to his underwear, then crept over the room.

 

"Where the hell have you been?" Ianto wasn’t sleeping.

 

"I thought you would be asleep,” Jack said. 

 

"Asleep?" He got out of bed and crossed the room, getting close enough to shout at Jack in a whisper. "I was worried _sick_ about you!"

 

“I'm sorry.” 

 

“So you bloody should be!" He pushed Jack roughly. "I thought something had happened to you!" 

 

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "There wasn't really time to tell you."

 

"Where did you go!?" Ianto pushed him again. “Where the hell did you go that was so _bloody_ important that you couldn't even write a fucking note!?" 

 

"Cardiff." Jack said, catching Ianto’s wrists when he tried to shove him back again. "It was important."

 

" I could’ve come with you." 

 

"Charlie said not to."

 

"Charles?" Ianto asked, ripping his hands away from Jack’s hold. "The same Charles who almost killed me!?"

 

"It was an accident, I know without a doubt that he wouldn't hurt a single hair on your head." 

 

"He lies, Jack!" Ianto hadn’t calmed down. 

 

"I trust him." 

 

"Why?" The Welshman asked. “How could you trust him after what he did?”

 

"I just do." Jack put his hands on Ianto’s face. "He's going to get us back."

 

"And you believe him?"

 

"Without a doubt." Jack caressed his cheek and felt him calm instantly. “We're going home and you're never going to look this scared ever again."

 

"I'll believe it when I see it." 

 

"I really _am_ sorry." Jack said, kissing him softly. "I won't disappear again." 

 

"Okay."

 

Jack slipped his arms around him and hugged him, closing his eyes to enjoy the warmth of his touch.. “Can I ask you something?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“I have a lot of time to think today and I was just trying to think--” Jack pulled back from the hug and held his hands. "Why did you kiss Charlie if you hate him so much?”

 

"I missed him," Ianto answered truthfully. "It was an impulsive moment.”

 

“Oh.” 

 

“It didn’t mean anything,” Ianto told him. “I didn’t do it because I felt anything.”

 

“Then why?”

 

“I don’t know.” Ianto shrugged. “As I said, it was just an impulsive moment.”

 

"I don’t like that answer,” Jack admitted. 

 

“You’re not jealous, are you?”

 

“A little.” Jack slipped his arms around the Welshman’s waist, pulling him close in the dark. “I guess I was just hoping that if you were going to act impulsively with someone, it would be me.”

 

Without warning Ianto leaned forward and kissed him, his fingers finding the waistband of his underwear. He pushed them down and pressed his hands against Jack’s chest, marching him back towards the bed without breaking the kiss. 

 

“Ianto--”

 

He silenced the older man with a searing kiss, pushing him back onto the bed before he had a chance to say anything else. Ianto took a moment to remove his underwear and step out of them, then straddled him, pinning him down against the mattress as he devoured his lips. He let Jack pull him down, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. 

 

Ianto’s lips strayed, pressing a trail down his chest and over his stomach and Jack gripped onto his shoulders, feeling the sudden warmth of the Welshman’s mouth around him; he let his head drop back against the pillow, biting down against his lip a little to keep himself under control. He could feel the heat, feel Ianto’s lips around him as he took his length in his mouth. Jack’s back arched and his hands gripped the bed linen, holding back the growl trapped in his throat. 

 

After a moment that seemed far too short for Jack’s liking, Ianto moved back to his lips, kissing him hungrily as he moved his hips forward and positioned himself above Jack’s erection. He fixed his eyes on Jack, his gaze burning into him as he straightened his back a little and lowered himself onto him, his breath catching in his throat as Jack entered him from below. Ianto closed his eyes, biting his lip when Jack wrapped his hand around his cock and started to stroke him. They found a rhythm and ianto gripped onto Jack’s shoulders when he managed to sit up a little, invading his mouth with intense kisses. 

 

Jack gasped in pleasure and Ianto kissed it away, muffling the noise from his lips. Jack’s fingers gripped his hip with one hand, turning the skin white and Ianto hissed as he felt his nails dig into his skin; it was a good kind of pain, the kind that only made the moment better, the kind that took him away to a whole different place.

 

Jack arched his neck to get to Ianto’s lips, the Welshman’s name rolling off his tongue in a whispered mantra. He could feel his body tense and he pulled him down onto him, taking him as deep as he could get him. His hand increased in pace too, rocking his hips in time with the new found rhythm. He could see the Welshman react and smiled little as he watched him arch his whole body back in complete ecstasy, his lips parting, his breath uneven. He was close to the edge, and by _God_ he was beautiful.

 

Ianto felt Jack fill him and he wasn’t far behind; he collapsed onto him, his lips resting against his shoulder and tried to steady his breathing again. 

 

“That was--” Jack lost his words when Ianto’s lips found their way to his mouth, his hands framing his face as he kissed him deeply. Jack rolled him onto his back without breaking the kiss and lay between his legs. He raked his fingers through Ianto’s hair, keeping him close.

 

“I thought you said that we wouldn’t be doing that here?” Jack asked.

 

“I was being impulsive with you.” Ianto smiled through his kiss. “I thought you would appreciate the effort.”

 

“I do.” Jack pressed a kiss against his neck. “It was--”

 

“Good?” Ianto asked self-consciously. “Right? It was good for you?”

 

“Oh, it was _very_ good for me.” Jack reassured him, caressing his cheek. “Although it may be the quietest sex I’ve ever had,”

 

“Yeah, I can imagine you’re not too used to that.”

 

Jack kissed him softly, letting the taste of him linger on his lips. “You look so tired.”

 

“I am,” Ianto laughed lightly “I probably didn’t have enough energy for that.”

 

“Then we should go to sleep.” Jack rolled onto his back, pulling Ianto into his side. He covered them over with the blankets, wrapping his arms around him, pressing a kiss to Ianto’s shoulder as they shared the middle of the bed.


	18. Chapter 18

Jack had woken up hours ago; his need for very little sleep really did make the nights boring, especially when there were other things he could have been doing with the gorgeous naked Welshman who still lay wrapped up in his arms. He had closed his eyes more times than he could count, hoping that he would drift back into sleep, but that hadn’t happened and now, early in the morning, as Ianto slept soundly, he felt the very cruel urge to wake him up. Jack pulled him back against his chest a little more, pressing a kiss against his shoulder, his hand moving to slip over Ianto’s fingers. 

 

“Are you up?” Jack whispered.

 

“What time is it?” His voice came out as a groggy-sounding growl, his voice low and sleepy. “It feels early.”

 

“Five.” 

 

“Five?” Ianto repeated, moving back into Jack’s heat a little. “In the morning?”

 

“Yeah, sorry.” He kissed his neck softly, fingers finding the soft skin of Ianto's thigh. “But you know what Iris is like, one minute past six and she’s at the door banging on it like there’s a fire.”

 

“Its not six yet,” Ianto replied groggily. “There’s a whole hour before that. I doubt she’s even awake yet.”

 

“I know."

 

Ianto felt Jack’s wicked smile against his skin and turned around a little in his arms, slipping his hand behind the older man’s neck to pull him into a kiss. Jack pulled him back, holding the Welshman against his body, his fingers slowly making their way up his thigh.

 

“So did you wake me up unnecessarily early for a reason?” Ianto asked.

 

“I have a reason.”

 

“Make it good.”

 

Jack moved his lips to Ianto’s ear. “I plan to have my wicked way with you,” he whispered. “I wanted to give us plenty of time.”

 

“You had your way with me six hours ago, remember?” 

 

“I could hardly forget. It was _very_ wicked and very, _very_ good, but that was hours ago. Six hours is a very long time.”

 

“Jack.” Ianto slipped out of his arms and sat up a little, resting his head against the headboard. “Last night was a one-off.”

 

“What?” Jack distanced himself. “A one off?”

 

“just until we get home,” Ianto corrected, reaching out to take his hand. “Then we can do it every six hours if that’s what you want, I promise.”

 

“Thats quite a promise to live up to, you’ll have to open your schedule a lot to fit me in.”

 

“Literally.” Ianto gave him a dirty smile. “We just have to wait a while. I can’t relax here.”

 

“I suppose I can live with that.” Jack closed the gap between them again and kissed his lips softly. “Although it is very hard when you look so good in the morning.” 

 

“Flattery will get you nowhere.”

 

"We should do this every day,” Jack said, pressing kisses along his collarbone. “Early morning naked laziness.”

 

Ianto pulled him into a kiss. "You get me home and we'll talk."

 

"I'm not really in a talking frame of mind right now."

 

"It's early," he mumbled, closing his eyes when he felt Jack’s fingers wrap around his length underneath the blankets. "I'm not fully awake yet, but give me five minutes and I’m all yours."

 

"I can help wake you up faster."

 

“Oh, yeah?”

 

“In the best kind of way.”

 

Jack kissed his way down Ianto’s chest slowly, his head disappearing underneath the blankets and Ianto gasped a little when Jack’s lips met his skin. His fingers found their way into Jack’s hair, gently holding on. shallow breaths escaped from his lips, a small smile gently tugging at the corner of his mouth at the feel of Jack’s warm mouth around him. His head dropped back until it rested on the wall and he moved his hips a little with Jack’s rhythm, his fingers gripped in the older man’s hair.

 

"You two need to get up and come and see this." Gwen whispered as she popped her head around the door. She stared at them for a moment, her mouth open in shock. "God almighty!"

 

Ianto’s eyes darted open and he pushed Jack’s head away, scrambling to find some dignity.

 

“Bloody hell.” Gwen shut the door behind her, then turned towards the wall.

 

“Goodmorning.” Jack popped his head out from underneath the covers. 

 

“Maybe for you.”

 

“You didn’t think to knock?” Ianto asked. “That’s the height of bad manners.”

 

“Well i didn’t know you would be--” Gwen couldn’t help but laugh. “Can’t you two keep it in your pants for two minutes?”

 

“We’re not wearing any,” Jack joked. 

 

“You’re not helping.” The Welshman distanced himself a little, pulling the blankets up as far as he could get them, suddenly very aware of his nakedness underneath.

 

"You two really need to learn to lock the door." Gwen said, turning back around slowly. 

 

Jack sat back up in bed, caring a lot less about his modesty than the other man. "We got a little distracted with other things."

 

"Obviously." 

 

"It's his fault," Ianto said. 

 

"It didn’t look like you were complaining." Gwen chuckled a little. "I'm glad you two made up and everything, but you should probably know that there was another Weevil attack last night."

 

"Chickens?" Ianto asked.

 

"Dog."

* * *

Gwen, Jack and Ianto stood in the yard, looking down at the mauled remains of an animal.

 

"Poor thing." Jack crouched down, looking at the side of his neck. "Hopefully it was quick for him."

 

"This could've been anyone, Jack," Gwen said. "Lucky nobody was out and about, really."

 

"I wonder where they're hiding."

 

"Probably the cellar," Ianto suggested. "Iris told me they’re were overrun with rats down there and you know how much they love rats." 

 

"Up for a Hunt, Ianto?" Jack asked with a smile.

 

"Always."

 

"We'll go after breakfast," Gwen said. "I need a cup of tea first to recover from my ordeal.”

 

"You stay in the house. We'll handle this one and you make sure the Hughes' stay clear,” Jack ordered. “The last thing we want is a bloodbath."

* * *

"Breakfast." Tosh put a paper bag and a takeaway cup in front of Owen as he worked at his computer station. "I thought you could do with a bacon sandwich and a caffeine shot.."

 

"Beautiful! Thanks Tosh." 

 

"I'm going to search our databases to see if Sofia turns up any results." Tosh sat down at her station, her fingers moving across the keyboard quickly. "Geraldine said she visited every week.'

 

"Already did it," Owen said, his mouth half-stuffed with his breakfast. 

 

"You did?"

 

"Only one Sofia has ever worked for Torchwood and the dates match up." 

 

"Did you find out why she retconned her?" 

 

"There's nothing documented, but her family tree makes for very interesting reading." Owen finally swallowed down his mouthful. 

 

"Oh?"

 

"Her father was Daniel Wilson, who Just happened to be the first son of Iris' old mate, Charlie."

 

"Did you check the paper archives?" Toshiko asked. “There might be something else down there.”

 

"Not yet. I hate that place, I don’t know how Ianto spends so much time down there.”

 

"I'll head down now and have a rummage," Tosh decided. "Maybe Ianto missed something somewhere, or didn’t think it sounded important.”

 

Toshiko put on her jacket and crossed the room, heading for the stairway that led to the cold archive room downstairs. Owen was right about the archives; they were not a pleasant place to be.

 

"Tosh?" Owen called out 

 

"Yeah?"

 

"I was up pretty late last night." He followed her, standing the step above. "And I was thinking--"

 

"About?"

 

"Well, when we crack this thing and get the others back, we should be owed a little time off."

 

"Definitely!" Tosh smiled. "I like you Owen, I really do, but we've spent far too much time together recently."

 

"Oh." Owen stepped back a little. "Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say."

 

"Are you alright?" 

 

"Yeah. I think I'm going to and check police reports for the last few days to see if we missed anything important." He turned around. "You go and look in the archive and I'll see you later."

 

"Owen, are you sure everything is alright?"

 

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm great." 

 

"Did I say something?"

 

"No, no!" Owen squeezed Toshiko's hand reassuringly. "You're right, we have spent too much time together."

* * *

Ianto grappled with one of the Weevils down in the cellar; there had been more than either of them had expected, six in total hunting them into a corner. He and Jack had managed to pick four of them off pretty quickly, but the final two were turning out to be a little more difficult. He pushed the creature off, managing to get a foot into its ribs before getting to his feet. They glared at each other, the Weevil growling one last time before tackling him back into the ground; the creature took a bite, scraping the skin on Ianto's chest, ripping his shirt in the process. 

 

"You okay?" Jack shouted as he subdued the other Weevil with a spray to the face. 

 

"Yeah!" He wrapped his hands around the Weevil’s neck, pushing him away to keep his teeth from his neck. "I could do with a little help, though."

 

Jack pulled the creature off him, using a soft spot at the back of his head and sprayed it's face until it fell onto the ground. 

 

"Thanks." Ianto lay on the ground to get his breath back, batting away one of the few living rats with the back of his hand.

 

"Did he get you?"

 

"What?" Ianto took Jack’s hand when he offered it and pulled himself to his feet.

 

“You’re bleeding.” 

 

“Oh.” He looked down at his chest; the blood had started to seep through the material of his shirt. "Just a scrape, nothing serious."

 

"I hope that's all of them, we’re running out of spray.”

 

"I just can't believe they came out all this way."

 

"Charles said they came through with us and should follow us back," Jack told him. “Bad for us, but at least it means the Hughes will be safe.”

 

"So we're going to have a fight on our hands as soon as we get back?" Ianto asked, still a little breathless. "Fantastic." 

 

"I don't know which I hate more, the Weevils or the dragons."

 

"I hate the bloody dragons, at least you know where you stand with the Weevils."

 

“I don’t like the look of this.” Jack ripped Ianto’s shirt a little more to take a look at the wound on his chest. "We should get you cleaned up." 

 

"What about them?" Ianto asked, looking over at the small pile of Weevils. 

 

"We'll lock them in for now, but in the long run I think we might have to break protocol."

 

"Kill them?" 

 

"I don't see another option.” Jack sighed heavily. “We can't risk them getting out and we hardly have anything that can hold him." 

 

"We could let Torchwood take them?"

 

"Yeah, they'd love us for that." Jack laughed. "We'll figure it out later, the spray should keep them down for a while, though. Right now, you’re my priority because you have a hole in your chest.”

 

“It’s a scrape.”

 

“I still don’t like it.”

 

"Jack?" Gwen opened the door, jogging down the stairs to join them. "You've got a visitor." 

 

"Can we talk?" Charlie appeared from behind her, then looked at the two men in front of him. "What the hell happened to you two?"

 

"Is that Weevil pile not clue enough?" Ianto droned.

 

"I'll look you over," Charlie said. 

 

"I don't need you to look me over, I just need to change my shirt." Ianto brushed past him. 

 

"Jones!" Charlie grabbed Ianto's arm as he passed him. "Don't be like that."

 

"Don't you call me that, don't you ever call me that!" He pulled his arm away from his grasp. "You lost the right."

 

"So you would rather have a hole in your chest than accept my help?" 

 

'I'd rather bleed to death than have you near me.” Ianto shoved him away a little. “So speak to Jack and do what you need to do. I’ll go upstairs and when you’re done he'll come to see me and make me feel a whole lot better."

 

"Really?" Charlie asked, glaring at Ianto as he squared his shoulders. “Is that right?”

 

"Yeah.” Ianto took a step closer. “And it's so much better with him than it ever was with you."

 

“So, you’re trying to hurt me, is that it?” he asked. “You want to get me back for something i haven't even done yet?”

 

“I couldn’t hurt you half as much as you hurt me. Your heart is too cold to break.”

 

Jack and Gwen looked at the floor, avoiding eye contact with either of the men as Ianto walked out the room, slamming the door behind him. 

 

"Well, that's--" Charlie fell quiet, running his fingers through his hair. "That feels worse than I ever imagined. He didn’t used to be like that." 

 

"He's angry," Jack said. "As far as he's concerned, you screwed him over." 

 

"I need to explain some things, make him listen.”

 

"He's not going to forgive you,” Jack told him. “I know him. He can’t forgive this.”

 

"Or maybe you just don't want him to."

 

Gwen watched Charlie go, then looked back at Jack. "What the hell just happened?"

 

"It's complicated."

 

"Are you going to fill me in?" Gwen asked. “Because there’s a big part of this puzzle that I’m obviously missing.”

 

“It’s--”

 

“Jack!” Gwen cut him off before he could finish. “I have a right to know.”

* * *

Ianto took his shirt off and looked at himself in the mirror; the bite was certainly more than a scratch, but Nothing that wouldn't sort itself out in a few days. He took a deep breath to combat the pain and closed his eyes to help block it out.

 

"Let me look at it?" Charlie asked as he stood in the doorway. "It'll take me two minutes if you just shut up and let me work." 

 

"Are you really sending us home?" Ianto asked him without turning around and he heard the door shut.

 

“Yes.”

 

“When?”

 

"Tonight.” Charles resisted the urge to wrap his arms around him, choosing instead to stay back. “It was going to be tomorrow, but I worked all night on making the amnesia solution safe. I thought that you would want to go as soon as you could."

 

"Owen will patch me up," Ianto said. “He’s our medic, he can do it.”

 

"Ianto, just stop being so bloody stubborn for once and let me help you." Charlie raised his voice just a little, not quite shouting. “Sit!”

 

“Fine.” Ianto sighed in defeat and walked over to the bed, sitting down as he was instructed. "Make it quick."

 

"Please don't hate me," Charlie said. “I know you think I deserve it, but I don’t.” 

 

"I thought you were going to patch me up?"

 

"I am."

 

"Then stop talking and just do it."

 

Charlie sat down on the bed, looking at Ianto’s chest. “You’ll live. You just need a good clean and you will be fine.” He opened his bag and took out a bottle and a rag; he emptied some of the liquid out and pressed it against the wound. 

 

"Thanks."

 

" I know that I said I would just work, but I need to explain why I don’t follow you."

 

"I thought you didn't know?" Ianto said. "Or was that a lie, too?"

 

“I haven’t done it yet,” Charlie explained. “I had to think.”

 

“How very hard for you.” Ianto stared ahead, refusing to look at him.

 

“I tried to think of any reason that I could legitimately have for leaving you and I couldn’t think of a single one.”

 

“You obviously find one,” Ianto said. “I did nothing to you, Charlie. I loved you and that was all.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I gave you everything and you broke my heart.”

 

“I’m sorry.” Charlie kissed his lips softly, but Ianto turned his head away. “I sent you to protect you and I’m going to protect you again, i promise you.” 

 

“I don’t believe anything you say,” Ianto told him. “Your words mean nothing.” 

 

“Do you trust Jack?” He asked. “Is he so trustworthy?”

 

“This isn’t about Jack, this is about us and why you abandoned me, so don’t change the subject.”

 

"I know why I do it.” he admitted.

 

“Why?” Ianto demanded. “What did I do to deserve it?” 

 

“Nothing. You do nothing.” Charlie took a deep breath. “If I send you back tonight then I don't have any way to follow you. I use my only way to get to you, to send you and your friends back home."

 

"What?" Ianto finally looked at him.

 

"It's the only thing I can think of. I love you.” He took Ianto’s hands. "I don't forget about you, I'm sure of it." 

 

"I wouldn't have gone if I knew I was going to be on my own," Ianto said. “I loved you, I wanted to start a new life with you.”

 

"And that's probably why I don’t tell you." 

 

'I don't remember it." Ianto said. "Getting from here to there. I don't remember how or anything.”

 

"You don't?"

 

"You sedated me so I couldn’t say goodbye, then when I woke up you were gone and I was on my own in a field with nothing but the clothes on my back and burning in my fingers."

 

"But you found a life, didn't you?" Charlie asked. “You were fine, you survived.”

 

"I found Torchwood."

 

"And you found Jack." Charlie said as he looked in his bag for a dressing. "And he's better than me in every way apparently." 

 

"He's different," Ianto said. “I shouldn’t have said he was better.”

 

"Do you love him?" Charlie asked quietly. 

 

"I don't know."

 

"Do you love me?"

 

Ianto shook his head a little. “Sorry.”

 

"Tell me I did the right thing?” Charlie asked. “Sending you away, was it the right thing?”

 

"Yeah." 

 

"I'm going to take care of the family, wipe it from their memories and check the area is safe. After that I'm going to wipe this from my memory because if I remember how much it made you hate me I might not make the same decision," Charlie explained. 

 

"It's probably best."

 

"I should go and talk to Jack. You need to stay here and have a rest so that you have plenty of energy for tonight." Charlie said, picking up his bag as he stood. "And that's a Doctor's order, okay?”

 

“Okay.”

* * *

Jack sat in the field, leaning back against the large tree and looked out at the view. the sun was starting to set, casting a glow over the rolling fields in front of him. Soon the sky would turn black and the stars would come out, but Jack wouldn't be there to see it. 

 

“I’ve been looking for you.” Ianto appeared beside him. “Iris made dinner.”

 

“I’m not really hungry.”

 

“I thought you would say that.” He sat down, handing him a plate with a sandwich on it. “I made this for you.”

 

“You made me a sandwich?” Jack smiled. “How very domestic.” 

 

“Its my job to look after you,” he said. “Someone has to make sure you don’t shrink away to nothing.” 

 

“You’re one of a kind, Ianto Jones.” Jack put his hand on Ianto’s knee. 

 

“As are you.”

 

Jack let a brief smile cross his lips when he felt Ianto move closer to his side and put his hand over his own. “I thought you didn’t hold hands with guys in fields?”

 

“I’m making an exception seen as we’re leaving in a few hours.” He lifted Jack’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “I feel safe now, I feel better. I can finally breathe.”

 

“i’m glad.” 

 

“Are you alright?” Ianto asked. “You’re very quiet and you haven't tried to feel me up yet..”

 

“Just thinking,” Jack said. 

 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“I don’t know.” Jack sighed. “Its one those moments when you think that saying it could be worse than just thinking it, because you can’t always take words back.”

 

“But sometimes thinking just eats away at you.”

 

“Yeah, they do.”

 

“I'm a man of few words, but I think that leaving things unsaid can cause more problems than the consequences of saying them.” Ianto laced their fingers together. “God knows I’ve fallen into that trap more times than I can count.”

 

Jack took a moment before looking at him. “I'm only asking because I don't want secrets between us and I want the best for you.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Do you miss him?” Jack asked.

 

“All the time.”

 

“So, if you could stay--”

 

“Stop.” Ianto turned a little to face him, taking his hand between both of his own. “ Things between us were over a long time ago. Missing him is automatic, like missing Lisa and my Dad and everyone else that I've ever lost, but I've come to terms with it.”

 

“I feel like you two were so in love," Jack said. “Like you had something special.”

 

"We were. At one time I would do anything for him and I did. He made me feel important, like I had a purpose.”

 

“And I don’t make you feel that way?” he asked. 

 

“In a different way, yeah,”

 

“I just don't want you to lose anything.” 

 

“I've already lost it,” Ianto told him. “It’s gone.”

 

"Torchwood can make things disappear," Jack said. "They could protect you if you wanted to stay."

 

"I don't," he reassured him. “Really, it’s fine.”

 

"But he was the love of your life.”

 

"I have a new life now." Ianto kissed Jack softly. "Maybe it'll be better."

 

"Why do you say that?"

 

"You're in this one." 

 

Jack smiled, pulling Ianto back in for another kiss. “You always know what to say.”

 

“It’s the truth.”

 

Ianto turned his back to him, resting his back against his cheek, he wrapped Jack’s arm around his chest and settled down to look at the sun as it went down over the horizon. Jack slipped his hand around the younger man’s neck, turning him a little as he kissed him deeply, his free hand reaching around him to caress the bare skin under his shirt. 

 

“I have a limit,” he said. “Save that for the future.”


	19. Chapter 19

“Knock knock?” Charlie knocked on the bedroom door and peeked inside. 

 

“Hi.” Ianto finished fastening up his shirt as he entered. “Is everything ready?”

 

“Yes, I’m just waiting on the three of you.” He sat down on the bed behind him, watching him through the mirror. “Are you ready?” 

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Good.”

 

“This _is_ going to work isn't it?” Ianto asked.

 

“I don’t see why it shouldn’t. I've left covert instructions for your team to help the rift guide you in.”

 

“Good idea.”

 

“I’m full of good idea’s.” Charlie smiled a little. “You always say so.”

 

“I’m usually right about these things.”

 

“Yes, you are.” Charlie stood up and walked towards him, slipping his hand over Ianto’s shoulder. “You’re usually right about most things.”

 

“I should say goodbye to Iris before we leave,” Ianto said. “I don’t want to just disappear.”

 

“I'll do that for you, it will be hard to explain.”

 

“I suppose.”

 

“Besides, I think she might be sweet on you.” Charlie smiled. “She missed you at dinner, so did I.”

 

“Jack needed me,” Ianto told him. “I can always tell when he needs to talk.” 

 

“He really has replaced me,” Charlie said sadly.

 

“No.” Ianto turned around and took his hand, holding it between both of his own. “I don’t think anybody could ever replace you.”

 

“I wish I felt like that was true. But I suppose this thing was over a long time ago for you.”

 

“Yeah, it was.”

 

“And you hate me, so--”

 

“I don’t hate you,” Ianto said softly. “Forgiving you isn’t going to be easy, but I will.”

 

“You could stay a little longer.” Charlie slipped his hand over Ianto’s chest “Maybe you should rest a little more after your attack.”

 

“It's fine, those painkillers work nicely and I've had much, much worse.”

 

“Then maybe you could stay around for something else.” Charlie smiled a little, stepping forward to close the gap between them. “Make some more good memories to help you forgive me quicker?”

 

“I can’t.” Ianto shook his head. “We’re over and me and Jack have this complicated thing.” 

 

“Then maybe me and Jack could take a night off and take you somewhere nice,” Charlie suggested with a raised eyebrow.

 

“What for?”

 

“I just thought that--”

 

“I know what you were just thinking.” Ianto laughed a little. “You and Jack are far too alike.”

 

“And?”

 

“And were going home tonight,” Ianto said. “We can’t drag this out any more.”

 

“I’ll miss you,” Charlie admitted. “When we’re apart for all those years, I’ll miss you.”

 

“I’ll miss you, too.”

 

Charlie slipped his hand over Ianto’s cheek and caressed the side of the face. “I can’t believe that this is one of the last times I’ll ever see your face.”

 

“You see me again,” Ianto told him. “In a few months you see me. I find you and we make love one more time before you send me away.”

 

“We do?”

 

“Yeah.” Ianto smiled sadly. “It’s wonderful.”

 

“And then after that I never see you again?”

 

“No.”

 

“Would you just tell me that you love me?” Charlie asked, his fingers brushing over Ianto’s lips. “Even if it’s a lie, just say it.”

 

“I love you,” Ianto whispered. “In this time, locked up and suffering, loving you was the only thing that kept me strong.”

 

Charlie kissed him softly, slipping an arm around him to pull him close.

 

“Don’t.” Ianto moved away a little. “You’re making this harder on yourself.”

 

“Ianto?” Jack called his name as he walked through the door, then stopped. “Am I interrupting something?”

 

“No.” Ianto pushed Charles away to arms length. “Charlie was just checking my wound.”

 

“I see.” Jack crossed his arms, glaring at Charlie. “So, how is he doc?”

 

“He looks good from where I’m standing,” Charlie said. “His wound is fine too.”

 

“I have painkillers,” Ianto explained. “I feel fine.”

 

“Then we’re ready to go?” Jack asked.

 

“Yeah.” Charlie sighed. “Whenever you’re ready, Captain.”

 

“Ianto, go and tell Gwen to meet us outside,” Jack said. “I need a moment with Charles.”

 

“Jack--”

 

“I gave you an order,” Jack said sharply, cutting Ianto’s words short before he could interject. “Now follow it.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Charlie watched Ianto slip out of the room, then looked back at Jack and pursed his lips. “Do you always talk to him like that?”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Like dirt?” Charlie asked. “Because he deserves better.”

 

“I know.” Jack sighed. “I know.”

 

“I don’t know exactly what you two have, but if it’s not important to you, if _he_ isn’t important to you, then he needs to know.”

 

“He is.”

 

“Then treat him better.” Charlie stepped towards him. “Treat him like a fucking King.”

 

“Well, im sorry but I come in here to find you two alone, your hands all over him I can’t help but get a little bit--”

 

“Jealous?” Charlie laughed bitterly. “In less than an hour I’ll be gone from his life forever. Even if he did still love me, I’m no threat to you. I’m still left with nothing and you get _everything_.” He shoved him back a little. “How is that fair?”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“No you’re not.”

 

“I know what it’s like to lose someone you love deeply,” Jack explained. “I understand.”

 

“You do?”

 

“You lose someone you love and it hurts forever, it rips out a tiny piece of your heart every single time it beats.”

 

“Thats comforting.” Charlie sighed, slumping down onto the bed.

 

“I’ve lost my fair share and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

 

“And I’m your worst enemy?” Charlie asked.

 

“Not even close.” Jack smiled, shoving his hands deeply into his pockets. “As much as it pains me to admit it, I’m actually growing to like you.”

 

“I have that effect on people.” 

 

“Let’s go,” Jack said. “It hurts less if you just get it over with.”

 

“It does?”

 

“No.” Jack smiled a little. “But I thought it would make you feel better.”

* * *

Jack, Ianto, Gwen and Charlie walked together to the far end of the horse paddock, Jack lagging behind a little to walk beside Ianto.

 

“I’m sorry,” Jack whispered. 

 

“What for?”

 

“The whole order thing. I was just--”

 

“He kissed me,” Ianto admitted. 

 

“I guessed.”

 

“I didn't kiss him back, but I didn’t stop him either.”

 

“You don’t have to explain yourself.” Jack slipped his hand into the Welshman’s grasp. “I know this is hard for you.”

 

“I’ll be fine when we get home,” Ianto reassured him. “I just need to get back.”

 

Charlie led them a little further, then stopped. He looked down at a map and marked down their location with a pencil before folding it back up and putting it in his pocket. 

 

"This'll do," Charlie said. "It's far out enough to limit damage, but close enough that I can get back to the house quickly for the cleanup."

 

"What do we do now?" Gwen asked.

 

"Well, first thing's first. I need a volunteer to keep the key. I don't think you should do it, Ianto. You already have one key absorbed into you and I don't know if another one will harm you."

 

"I'll do it," Gwen offered. "God knows I have to do something to feel useful."

 

"Then I'll have to sedate you," Charlie said apologetically. 

 

"What for?"

 

"Better safe than sorry." He crouched down and opened his bag and took out a syringe, drawing up some liquid from a bottle into the needle. "When you activate the key it clamps down and burns it's way underneath your skin, the pain can knock you out and I don't want you to go into shock."

 

"So, what you're trying to say is it fucking hurts?" Gwen laughed nervously. 

 

"Yeah." Charlie smiled a little. "Basically."

 

"How long will it knock me out for?"

 

"About an hour."

 

"An hour?!" Gwen questioned 

 

"Just think of it as going to sleep and waking up when all the work is done, safe in the knowledge that you were the most important part of the plan." Charlie slipped his hand over her cheek. “Like sleeping beauty, but with a better complexion.”

 

"Do you charm all the girls this way?" Gwen asked as she rolled up her sleeve. 

 

"Yeah." Charlie smiled, throwing a wink in Ianto's direction. "And the boys." 

 

"Bloody hell Ianto, do you have a type or what?" 

 

Everyone chuckled but Ianto. 

 

"It might take a little time to work,” Charlie explained. “But it does have a slight euphoric side effect, so you might be a little giddy, or feel intoxicated when you wake up."

 

"Hit me, doc." Gwen held out her arm, bracing herself.

 

"Nighty night Gwen Cooper." 

 

He pushed the needle into her skin, injecting the solution into her veins and she slumped against Ianto sleepily. She blinked her eyes, holding onto his arm for support.

 

"God! That's got a kick!" Gwen blinked rapidly. 

 

"You alright?" Ianto asked, keeping her supported.

 

"You know what I've just realised, Ianto?" She asked.

 

"What?"

 

"I'm the only one here who hasn't shagged you." She giggled. “This must be the only time where you’ve slept with more people than Jack has.”

 

"Thanks." Ianto gave a tight smile. "Thanks for making this even more comfortable for me."

 

"You're welcome," she slurred her words. "I have kissed you though, so it's not all bad news." 

 

"Euphoric?" Ianto asked Charlie, holding her up as she slumped further against him. 

 

"There might be a tiny amount of truth Serum mixed in there, just for fun." Charlie smirked. "Sedation isn't almost as funny without it." 

 

"What now?" Jack asked. 

 

"Once she's totally out, we'll activate the key, I'll get as far as I can and you'll be on your merry way." 

 

"Good."

 

"Just make sure you look after her, you might have things to fight off at the other end so be on your guard and be careful."

 

"Thanks for the warning,” Jack said. 

 

“I think she’s out.” Ianto stepped back to accommodate the Weight of Gwen as she passed out, slumping back into his shoulder. He held her up, putting her arm around his neck to keep her upright. 

 

"Brilliant." Charlie checked Gwen's pulse, then pinched the skin on the back of her hand. "Out for the count and her purse is nice and steady, which is exactly what we want."

 

"Good." Jack took the other side of her, supporting Ianto to hold her. "So now we go?"

 

"I just want to talk to Ianto for a moment."

 

“Well, of course you do.” Jack took all of Gwen's weight as Charlie took Ianto’s hand and led him a few footsteps away. 

 

"We don't get to say goodbye next time,"Charlie said. "Or rather, last time?"

 

"Time is complicated." 

 

"Yeah." 

 

"I love you, Ianto,” Charlie said.

 

"I know." Ianto wrapped his arms around him, pulling him tightly into an embrace. "Be happy."

 

"You too." 

 

"And look after Iris," Ianto requested. 

 

"Can I at least kiss you goodbye this time?" Charlie asked, pulling away from their embrace. 

 

"Best not," Ianto said. 

 

"Take this." Charlie stepped back and took a deep breath, then took a tin out of his pocket and gAve it to him. "There's three syringes in there containing amnesia solution. If you want them to forget your secrets, or if you want to forget all this, you can use them." 

 

"I won't need them," Ianto tried to hand them back. "No more secrets between me and Jack."

 

"What about Gwen?" He asked. "Do you trust her."

 

"I do." 

 

"It's your decision.” Charlie slipped them into Ianto’s pocket. “But take them, just incase.” 

 

"Is that it then?" Ianto asked.

 

"One more thing." Charlie took an alien pendant out of his pocket and gave it to him. "You need this to complete the circuit, but destroy it when you get there to avoid Gwen accidentally ending up back here."

 

"You're the boss." 

 

"Actually, Jack's the boss,” Charlie said sadly. “I'm just a memory now." 

 

"Goodbye charles."

 

Ianto stepped back towards Jack and took Gwen's weight, sighing a little as he took a slow breath.

 

"Did you say your goodbyes?" Jack asked.

 

"Already done that." 

 

"Jack?" Charlie handed the ring to him. "Do you remember what I said about this?"

 

"Left turn, right turn, forty seconds for you to get out of the radius." 

 

"Have a safe journey." Charlie stepped towards Jack and took his face in his hands, then kissed him softly on the lips. "If we had gotten just a little more time, we call could’ve all had some fun--"

 

"For God's sake," Ianto mumbled, rolling his eyes. 

 

"You really do have a type." Jack smirked. "I could've grown to like him."

 

"Let's go." 

 

Ianto picked Gwen up, cradling her in his arms as Jack found her finger and slipped the ring on. It clamped down onto her finger, small spikes forming to grip the skin. Jack turned it left until the lights flashed, then right until they went green. The ring burned in Jack’s grip and melted into Gwen's skin, branding a green ring around her middle digit. 

 

The light engulfed them and everything surrounding them, a beam of pure white light that lit up the entire sky for a moment, wiping out the stars and the moon from view. The ground burned underneath their feet and they held onto each other to stay together. 

 

"What's that?!" Iris shouted as she ran through the field, a pair of hands gripping her around her waist to stop her getting close to the light. "What's happening!"

 

"They're going home." 

Charlie kept hold of her, holding her back from the light as it disappeared as quickly as it came, then let her go. She ran onto the spot they had been and looked down at the spiral of black charred land where grass had once been.


	20. Chapter 20

* * *

"I'm never going back down there again." Tosh said, dusting off her skirt with firm strokes off her hand. "There's nothing but old skin cells and paperwork."

 

"Find anything?" Owen asked.

 

"I wouldn't care as much if I did." Tosh tried to satisfy an itch on her neck. “I have a newfound respect for Ianto spending so much time down there. I’m sure something bit me.” 

 

“It’s just the dust.”

 

Owen walked over to her, handing her a fresh cup of tea. He had totally given up on coffee; the takeaway stuff just wasn’t the same as Ianto’s and the coffee machine looked more like an alien torture device than something that made a mean espresso. 

 

"Here," he said. "Earl grey for a change."

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Your turn next time. I’m not a tea boy.”

 

"I'm not sick of you, you know?" Tosh said. 

 

"I didn't say you were." 

 

"Earlier--"

 

"Forget about it." Owen took a drink of his tea, then pulled the pencil out from behind his ear to write something down, "I was just thinking outloud."

 

"I should've let you think instead of presuming." 

 

"No, you were right," Owen said, walking into Jack’s office and taking a seat behind his desk as he looked at some papers on the desk. "We _have_ spent far too much time together, which is probably why what happened between us happened in the first place."

 

“I blame the countryside,” Tosh joked. “We’ve never had good experiences with it.”

 

“Or the wine,” he said. “You could blame the wine.”

 

"I stole the cheap champagne,” Tosh told him. “I couldn’t resist.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah.” She pulled herself up onto Jack’s desk. “I thought it might be drinkable after all.”

 

“You never know until you try.”

 

“Once we get them back, we should crack it open on our time off to celebrate.”

 

“Yeah. Why not?” Owen stood up and pushed Jack’s large leather chair back into place. “Or we could go out somewhere and get some _real_ champagne.”

 

“Even better.”

 

“Even make a night of it, y’know?” he suggested. “Grab some dinner somewhere nice to make it an occasion, you can put on something girly with heels and I might even find a tie somewhere.”

 

“Is--” Tosh hesitated for a moment. “Are you asking me out on a date, Owen?”

 

“Well, it doesn’t have to be if you don’t want--”

 

“It’s a date.” Tosh smiled. “Sounds fun.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Great, well I should--"

 

"The way Torchwood is the longer we leave it the more chance there is for a missed opportunity.” Toshiko looked at him and he crossed the room to stand in front of her. 

 

"We've had too many missed opportunities."

 

"Far too many." Tosh hesitated for a moment in the silence, then pulled him close and kissed him.

 

“Tosh--”

 

"I'm sorry,” she said. “I don't usually do that but--"

 

"You didn't want to miss an opportunity." 

 

"Exactly"

 

Owen slipped his hands between Toshiko’s legs and pushed them apart, moving to stand between them and kissed her again, his fingers wrapping gently around the back of her neck. "We could take a little break from work for a bit.”

 

"Ten minutes wouldn't hurt, I suppose"

 

"Or thirty." 

 

Owen pressed her into the desk, kissing hungrily and Tosh worked quickly on his buttons pushing his shirt off to expose his t-shirt underneath. Owen pushed up up and kissed her neck. The flickering of the lights made them stop and the loud screeching of sirens reverberated around the hub. 

 

"What the hell is that?" Owen asked. “Did Jack alarm his fucking desk?”

 

“Power failure.” Tosh pushed owen away, straightening her skirt as she jogged over to her work station. “We have something draining the power in one of the archive rooms.”

 

“Its not another bloody cyberwoman is it?”

 

“Ive just been down there,” Tosh said, trying commands into her computer to bring up a heat map. “There was nothing there, just boxes of files. There’s nobody down there , but there’s definitely something draining our power.” 

 

“I’m going to check it out.” Owen grabbed his gun.“You stay here, I’m not taking any chances this time.”

 

“You go, I go,” Tosh said, pushing a magazine into her glock as she followed him down, running down the stairs until they got to the archive room door. 

 

“Why do things like this always happen at the worst time possible?” Owen asked as they stalked down the corridor.

 

“The fourth law of thermodynamics.” 

 

“What’s that when it’s at home?”

 

“Scientific speak for Murphy’s law,” Tosh explained. 

 

“Fuck that.” Owen kicked the door open, then charged inside, pointing his gun into every corner. The lights flickered on and off, one bulb exploding above them, showering the floor behind them with glass. 

 

“Theres nothing here,” Tosh said. “I can’t see what’s draining the power.”

 

“It’s got to be something.”

 

“Maybe its a generator issue?” Tosh wondered. 

 

“It’s not.” Owen lowered his weapon and illuminated a metal box with his torch. “What is that?”

 

“I found it on one of the shelves before, it’s just a box.”

 

“Was it open before?” Owen picked it up, carefully lifting up the lid that had come ajar.

 

“No. I tried it, it was sealed shut.” Tosh took a look at it, then took out the paper from inside, using her torch to light up the neat handwriting. “It’s so weird.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“They appear to be instructions.”

 

“For what?”

 

“They’re signed by Charles Wilson, July 1901 and the box was time locked, so my best guess would be that he wants me to use them for something,” Tosh said. “They’re coordinates.”

 

“For what?”

 

“For the rift,” she explained as she read. “I can use this information to triangulate their location and point of impact.”

 

“They’re coming back?”

 

“I think so.”

* * *

"What did you do to them?" Iris asked Charlie, looking down at the burntout ground where the others had not long been standing. 

 

"They had to go," he said. "They didn't belong here."

 

"Did you kill them?" she asked. “Are they dead?”

 

"No." 

 

"Then where did they go?" She looked at the sky, now as dark as it had been before. "People don’t just vanish?"

 

"Sometimes they do.”

 

“I didn’t even get to say goodbye to them.”

 

“You don’t always get a goodbye.” Charlie sighed. “I’m sorry.”

 

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the air and Iris looked back in the direction she had come from. Another shot fired, then a third and a fourth.

 

“Who’s back there?” Charlie asked.

 

“My Dad.”

 

Charlie ran back in the direction the shots had come from, pulling his pistol from his belt as he leapt over the fence in the paddock. He darted towards the courtyard as fast as he could, looking in every direction for a clue. 

 

“What was it?” Iris appeared at his side, her skirt torn. 

 

“I dont know where it came from.”

 

An all-too-familiar growl came from the direction of the barn and Charlie ran, overtaken by Iris as she sprinted towards it. She stopped dead in her tracks, backing away slowly when a Weevil stalked her back.

 

“Dad?” she shouted.

 

The creature approached her, taking her scent as he turned his head to the side, a low growl escaping from its mouth. 

 

“Don’t move.” Charlie pulled her back slowly, wrapping his fingers around her arm. “Move slowly and go back into the house.”

 

“No.”

 

“Do as you’re told.”

 

Iris moved forward towards the Weevil, trying her hardest to push it off as it made a lunge for her neck. It stopped in its tracks, going limp as a bullet passed through its temple and out the other side, then dropped. She took the opportunity and stepped over the creature, jogging back into the barn.

 

“Dad?”

 

“I’m sorry.” Charlie followed her, kneeling down beside her as she cradled the body of her father, lifeless and bloody. “I’m really sorry.”

 

“Do something!”

 

“I can’t,” he said. “There’s nothing I _can_ do for him. He’s dead.”

* * *

Jack woke up face down in a shallow pool of water, the sound of familiar growling too close for comfort; he could feel something close to his neck, sniffing the skin. He moved slowly, grabbing his Webbley from his holster and turned around, firing a shot directly into the Weevil’s eye socket. 

 

“Ianto?” Jack heard a three shots in the distance and what sounded like a splashing in deeper water. “Where are you?”

 

“Surrounded by Weevils, thanks!”

 

“You got Gwen?”

 

“Yeah, and she’s bloody heavy, too!”

 

Jack moved towards his voice and found him standing up to his waist in the water with Gwen draped over his shoulder. He held one Weevil underneath the water with his foot as he filled another with bullets. 

 

“Is that it?” Jack asked, pulling the last remaining Weevil underneath the water, holding him down until he went limp. “Are they all gone?”

 

“I’m not worried about the Weevils,” Ianto said. “They’re easy.”

 

“So what are you worried about.”

 

“Those!” Ianto pointed behind Jack at the three large dragon creatures that were waiting on the drier ground. “Got any pointy sticks?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Wonderful.” Ianto shrugged Gwen further onto his shoulder. “We come all this way back and die before we get past the bay? That’s the definition of bad luck.”

 

“Do you still have those syringes Charlie gave you?” Jack asked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I could try that?” Jack suggested. 

 

“And whats that going to do?” Ianto questioned. “Make them forget they’re hungry?”

 

“It was a thought.”

 

“Yeah, well it wasn’t your brightest.”

 

Jack and Ianto watched the three creatures as they roared at the water, standing tall and flapping their veiny wings as they screeched. They took flight, soaring over the water and towards them quickly.

 

“I think they know we’re here,” Ianto said.

 

A surge of gunfire lit up the sky, bringing the beasts down in the water with a splash; the creatures thrashed around, struggling with breath as they crept towards them, crying out. Two of them found their feet, wading through the shallow water towards them.

 

“One down.” Jack grabbed Gwen’s Glock from her belt and approached one of them, thrusting his hand into its weak body through the bullet holes and fired a shot, breaking the creature into pieces; it exploded into a blue gunge. “One to go.”

 

The sound of water splashing could be heard from behind the beast and Jack tried his trick again, only to have the beast collapse on top of him, dragging him down into the water. He wrestled it off, pushing its heavy body away from him and into the water. The creature screamed, stopping suddenly when a sharp object pierced it from behind.

 

“You brought a pointy stick?” Jack smiled, facing Toshiko and Owen as they stood waist high in the water with them. 

 

“I’ve never been happier to see you in my life.” Ianto released a tense breath, bracing himself on Owen’s shoulder.” 

 

“What happened to Gwen?” Owen approached her, feeling around her neck for a pulse.

 

“Don’t worry, she’s just sedated, but she weighs a fucking ton.”

 

“Let’s get her back to the hub,” he said. “Warm you lot up”

 

“Great idea.”

 

“By the way, what the hell are you wearing?” Owen took Gwen from him, leading Ianto back through the water towards the land. “You look like a right twat.”


	21. Chapter 21

Owen and Ianto stood beside Gwen in the autopsy room and looked down as she started to wake, standing either side to stop her from rolling off. Ianto had changed back into a spare suit that he kept tucked in the changing quarters downstairs for emergencies and looking at him, you would never have guessed he had been up to his waist in the bay less than forty five minutes ago. Unfortunately for her, Gwen wasn't so lucky; her clothes, the ones she had been wearing when she first went through the rift, were soaked through and filthy, her hair was wet and wild and her boots were close to ruin. 

 

Owen took Gwen's pulse, then checked her temperature and vital signs before taking a few vials of blood. He pinched open her eyelids with his fingertips and looked into her eyes with his pen torch.

 

"Well, everything seems fine as far as I can tell."

 

"She probably needs to get changed," Ianto said. "She looks like she's been dragged through a bush backwards." 

 

"Yeah, as soon as she wakes up get her cleaned up and take her home, then spin Rhys one of your little stories."

"Didn't you contact him to cover for her?" Ianto asked. "Tell me you didn't just let him think she was missing."

 

"Of course I did." Owen dropped a little blood onto a slide and put it underneath the microscope. "I told him she was on a team building course in Swansea and that she didn't mention it because it was last minute when someone else dropped out. He seemed a little bit huffy about it, but that's not my problem."

 

"Is that the best story you could come up with?" Ianto was unimpressed. 

"What's wrong with it?". Ianto was clearly unimpressed. "A last minute team building course?"

 

"Well, that's your bloody department, isn't it? Tall tales and coffee with a bit of admin on the side."

 

"Nice to know I was missed."

 

"I wouldn't say that." Owen handed his empty cup to him. "You have your uses."

 

Ianto sighed and took it, heading for the stairs before turning back.

 

"By the way, I found your shirt in a ball on the floor downstairs," he said. "I'll take it home and try to get the blood out."

 

"Thanks." 

 

"I wouldn't mourn it if I can't manage it though, it's a fucking ugly shirt anyway." 

 

Owen smiled a little as he got back to work analysing Gwen's blood sample; he tried not to let his affection show. "Fuck you."

 

"Yeah, fuck you too."

Ianto disappeared up the stairs, his eyes meeting Jack's gaze from across the room as he sat in his office, deep in phone conversation. He took a deep breath and continued onto the coffee machine; things between them had changed forever and there was no going back. Jack had always looked at him a _little_ lustfully, his eyes spending a little too long on his backside whenever he walked away and his fingers always found an excuse to linger whenever they brushed past each other, but this was all different now. Ianto didn't have to imagine how his lips tasted, or what he looked like underneath all the military clothing, he didn't have to fantasize about how it would feel to have him inside him anymore; he knew from experience. They had danced around each other for months, their casual flirtations intensifying more and more, but their time away from Torchwood had shunted them out of their known reality and into another world where they were far less restrained. Ianto had wanted to take him up on his flirtations ever since he started at Torchwood, but now that he had there really was no going back.

Jack smiled at him, leaned back on his chair and put his boots up on his desk. The conversation with the Major wasn't half as interesting as the thoughts in his head. Ianto Jones was looking a little hot under the collar to see the least, his fingers gripping onto Owen's coffee cup so tightly his knuckles were starting to go white. Jack could see the heaviness of his gaze and he couldn't wait to send the others home; what he and Ianto needed was a little alone time, deep underground where nobody could her them lose themselves. He had the urge to hang up on the Major, walk over to the Welshman and have him up against the water tower.

"Captain Harkness?" The Major's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he shook his head to concentrate on the task at hand. "Are you still here?"

"Sorry," Jack apologised as he watched Ianto scuttle off towards the coffee machine. "What were you saying Major?"

Ianto continued his journey to the coffee machine and busied himself. Thinking about Jack wasn't going to help him keep his composure and it certainly wasn't going to help the urge to go into his office, get down on his knees and blow him right there underneath his desk while he spoke on the phone to the UNIT Major. He put down the cup and straightened his tie, exhaling a long breath as he tried to rid his mind of the thoughts. Ianto Jones became aware, quite suddenly, that his world had changed.

* * *

"God!" Gwen groaned on the table as she slipped back into consciousness. Sitting up a little, she grabbed her head and closed her eyes to stop the room spinning. She was in the autopsy room, she knew that, but she hadn't remembered it being so spinny and bright

 

"Good morning sunshine." Owen helped her move around to perch on the edge of the table. "How are you feeling?"

 

"Like shit." She swayed a little, looking up at the light above her before pushing it away. "A special kind of shit though, shit that's been warmed up in the sunshine."

 

"Yeah, that'll be the old style sedative," Owen explained. "It'll wear off."

 

"My hands feel like water." Gwen looked at her hands, holding them close to her face. "And they're proper huge."

 

"Huge?" Owen quirked an eyebrow. "You've always had man hands, Gwen. That's not a new feature."

 

"No, like balloons." She listened to herself, then creased her face as she chuckled. "That's a funny word isn't it?"

 

"What is?" Owen asked, "balloons?"

 

Gwen giggled. "Ba-looooooo-ns."

 

"What the hell did he put in that sedative?"

 

"She's high." Ianto said, walking over to pass Owen a freshly brewed cup of coffee. "Charlie likes to make sedative fun."

 

"Oh, well that's just great!" 

 

"Charlie was lovely!" Gwen said, reaching out to pull Ianto towards her by his wrist. "And he was gorgeous too, isn't that right Ianto?”

 

“He was fairly attractive, yes.”

 

“I think he was almost more attractive than Jack.” Gwen mused. "What do you think?" 

 

“There's a thin line.”

 

“I wish I could've met this Charlie” Owen said. “I've heard quite a few stories about him over the past few days,

 

“He was Ianto's boyfriend!" Gwen whispered loudly. “Shh!”

 

"Thanks Gwen." Ianto smiled tightly. 

 

“Really?” Owen found himself suddenly interested as he looked over at the uncharacteristically embarrassed Welshman. “Tell me more.”

 

“Don't tell him anything," Ianto warned.

 

"It was tense," Gwen explained. "Lots of sexual tension and you should have seen his arse. It was _spectacular_!"

 

"You can stop now," Ianto said.

 

"Jack was all--" Gwen paused for thought, then growled. "Grrr!"

 

"Really?" Owen laughed. "Grr?"

 

"Yeah. I mean, aft first he was pissed because Charlie tried to bump Ianto off, but it was all a big misunderstanding and they all kissed and made up," she explained. 

 

"And if he wasn't already dead, I would kill him for this." Ianto muttered. "Gwen, I think it's time for you to go home to Rhys, remember Rhys?"

 

"Yeah," she smiled. "He's got a lovely bum, too." 

 

"I'll take her downstairs." Ianto said, helping her down from the table. "Tosh can get her into some dry clothes and then I'll take her home when she's a little more lucid."

 

"I'll go and brief Jack."

"I can do that if you like," Ianto suggested. 

"He said brief," Gwen interrupted. "Not _de_ brief."

* * *

Jack sat at his desk sorting through some of the reports that Tosh had prepared from their time away. He picked up the pendant device and took a look at it; it seemed like nothing now, no lights, no activity, just a small piece of alien technology with the power to wreak havoc on lives. He would be destroying it the first chance he got.

 

"Jack?" Owen knocked on the door as he entered. "Gwen's awake."

"Good."

"She's also high as a kite."

 

"Oh, great!" Jack drawled sarcastically. "That's _all,/I > we need."_

 

"Ianto's taking care of her. Apart from that she seems fine really, her blood looks normal but there's a few things I don't recognise, probably just sedatives we don't use anymore."

 

"Good work."

 

"I would suggest letting her take a few days off to right herself."

 

"I had planned to do that anyway. It's been a tough few days for all of us, you all need some downtime." Jack put the files into his drawer, then stood up and perched on the edge of his desk.. "I've just come off the phone with the Major, he said you brought in UNIT."

 

"Yeah, well-"

 

"Good call," Jack said. "He was impressed with your work and so was I."

 

"Tosh did a lot of it. She connected the dots in ways I could never do."

 

"I'm proud of both of you," Jack said. "You didn't kill each other while I was away, which is a pleasant surprise."

 

"Thanks Jack." Owen turned around, getting to the door when he heard the other man summon him back.

 

"Oh, and Owen?" Jack waited for him to turn back before speaking. "Just one more thing."

 

"Yeah?" 

 

"You and Tosh take some time off, I'll see you on Monday."

 

"I'll tell her." 

 

"Maybe you could take her for a drink or something'" Jack suggested with a smirk. "Champagne maybe?"

 

"Why would--" Owen avoided his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. "I mean--"

 

"Or Maybe you could just take her back to your apartment to finish what you started on my desk tonight." 

 

"Jack--" Owen Laughed nervously. "I can explain that."

 

"Okay." Jack leaned back on his desk,crossed his arms and waited. "Go ahead."

 

"I--"

 

"Yeah?" He prompted.

 

"Well, we were--" Owen sighed. "Okay, so I can't explain it."

 

"I'll let it slide this time, but in the future remember that the only person allowed to bend anyone over my desk is _me_."

 

"Sorry Jack."

 

"Take the girl out!" Jack ordered. "God knows she deserves it."

 

"Yeah, she does." Owen got to the door again, then turned back. "About that CCTV?"

 

"Already taken care of, just don't let it happen again." 

 

"Understood Captain."

* * *

"I can't wait for a few days off," Tosh said, leaving her front door open for Owen to follow. "Read a good book, have some early nights, a long bath. I can't even think of the last time I had some time to myself."

 

"Yeah, it's unheard of."

 

"What are you going to do with your time alone?"

 

"Well, I wasn't planning on spending it completely alone," Owen said. "I thought we had a date?"

 

"I won't keep you to it." Tosh shrugged off her jacket. "You don't need to feel like you have to. I don't want to be a charity case."

 

"You're not."

 

"Things don't need to change because of what happened." Tosh gave him a small smile. "You're not obligated, I understand."

 

"Maybe I want them to change," Owen said, the words surprising even him.

 

"Owen, listen." Tosh took his hand and led him over to the couch, then sat down with him. "You paid no attention to me before this all happened. You barely looked at me--"

 

"That was before your legs were in my kitchen."

 

"What?"

 

"Well, not just your legs, but they were definitely a pivotal moment," Owen explained. 

 

"What are you talking about."

 

"I'm slow sometimes," he admitted. "But the other day when you were in my kitchen in my shirt it was--well, it clicked."

 

"What clicked?" Tosh asked, 

 

"You're gorgeous, Tosh and it's not like I hadn't noticed it before, it's just that, well you were in my kitchen in my shirt and I really wished you weren't wearing anything at all."

 

Tosh let her hand fall from his and her eyes avoided his gaze, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Owen--"

 

"I mean, I've noticed that you're beautiful and you're obviously smart and I've always known that you're funny, but I've never really noticed all of that together until a few days ago."

 

"I've always cared about you, Owen," Tosh said. "But you never showed any interest."

 

"I know and I'm slow, but you were the one going on about missed opportunities today." 

 

Tosh stood up. "Maybe missing an opportunity to let you hurt me is a good thing." 

 

"So, that's it? You let me pour out my heart and then tell me I needn't have fucking bothered?" Owen asked, standing up to face her. "Maybe this cold-bloody-hartednessis the part of you I forgot about over the last few days!"

 

"It's not my fault that you're an emotional cripple!"

 

"Yeah, well it's not my fault that you're a lousy shag, either." Owen took a step back as soon as he said it, immediately regretting the harsh words. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Tosh--"

 

"Get out!" 

 

Owen found himself being pushed back by three swift shoves to his shoulders until he reached the door. 

 

"I didn't mean that."

 

"Go!" Tosh yelled, opening the door and pushing him out. 

 

"Tosh!" Owen stopped the door with his foot to keep it open. "I didn't mean that."

"I did!"

"And you're right," Owen admitted. "I am an emotional cripple and you're the only one who understands that."

"Maybe I'm just the only one who will put up with it."

"And that's why I need you." Owen stepped back inside. "I _need_ you Tosh."

"I thought you didn't need anyone."

"So did I."

Owen closed the door behind him and moved towards Toshiko; he slipped his hands over her cheeks and kissed her.

"It would never work," Toshiko said sadly. "You're not capable of letting anyone care about you."

"Yet you do it anyway."

"Someone has to. Everyone should have someone who cares."

Toshiko let Owen kiss her again and wrapped her arms around him; he pulled her close, slipping his hands underneath her blouse as he manoeuvred her backwards towards the couch.

* * *

Ianto walked into Jacks office and stood in the doorway. It was late and they were alone bar for Gwen who was lying on the sofa in the r&r area, resting her eyes.

 

"You called?" Ianto asked.

 

"I did."

 

"Tosh and Owen have gone home." Ianto took a few steps into the office, meeting Jack in the middle. “Gwen is still high, so if you need something there’s only me.”

 

“Ianto Jones at my service huh?” He pulled the Welshman close, straightening the already perfect line of his burgundy tie. "Ready to do my bidding?"

 

"Anything you need, _sir_." Ianto locked his gaze onto the older man, his heart beating a little faster than he wanted to admit. "I'm at your full disposal."

 

Ianto's smile was slow, a little more of a leer than Jack was used to and it made him lose his breath for a moment. He ran his fingers over the silkiness of the other man's tie and pulled him close, his lips close enough to taste. 

 

"God, I missed the way you look in a suit," Jack growled lustfully, his breathing a little heavy. "So servantly, so professional." 

 

"So did I." Ianto closed his eyes as he felt Jack's breath whisper on his neck.

 

“I mean, the whole turn of the century look was great, but _this_ is definitely my favourite.” Jack slipped his hand around him, pulling him closer, then brushed his lips against his ear, taking in the scent of him a little. “That tell-take aftershave, that faint hint of good coffee on your breath. I missed it."

 

"The coffee?" Ianto suggested innocently. "Are you in need of a cup?"

 

"I'm in need of something." 

 

"I wonder what that could be."

 

Ianto let Jack kiss him, wrapping his arms around his back as the heat of lips invaded his mouth. He surrendered to it completely, finding himself being pulled close, his hips pressing into Jack's; he gripped onto the older man's shirt, his head falling to the side to let him caress his neck with his lips.

 

"Maybe you should take off this suit and show me exactly how you put in on so perfectly," Jack suggested.

 

"I'm smart enough to realise that you're just trying to get me naked in your office."

 

"So?" Jack smiled, pressing a kiss into his neck. "I can be naked, too."

 

"Gwen is out there." Ianto's voice was weak, his light protest meant nothing. 

 

"She's high," Jack said, moving his kisses back to Ianto's lips. "I doubt she would even notice."

 

Ianto smiled against his lips a little as Jack manoeuvred towards his desk until he was perching on the edge. He slipped his hands around his neck, pulling him down a little to taste him. 

 

"This is a very old desk for what you have in mind," Ianto mumbled. 

 

"Sturdy." Jack pulled at the knot in Ianto's tie until it was loose enough to remove, slipping the knot away completely, then pushed the jacket off his shoulders. "They made things better back then."

 

"I have to get Gwen home." 

 

"Gwen can wait."

 

"Yeah, she's asleep anyway really I mean--"

 

Ianto pulled him close again, searing kisses burning his lips as the older man slipped the jacket off his shoulders before working on the neat row of buttons on his pristine shirt. He pushed Jack's braces off his shoulders, then tugged his shirt free, moaning into his mouth when Jack's hand found a slow rhythm on the outside of his trousers. 

 

"Do you want to do this here, or move to the more conventional quarters downstairs?" Jack asked. 

 

"I need to be at home tonight, Jack," Ianto said weakly. "I need to be in my own bed."

 

"Or, you could be in my bed," he suggested. "You might not get much sleep, but it'll be worth it."

 

"If you let me be in my own bed tonight, I promise that tomorrow we can do anything you like on any surface you want." 

 

"Anything?" Jack asked, moving back a little.

 

"Anything."

 

"Even the really dirty stuff?"

 

"Especially the really dirty stuff." He kissed his lips softly. "It's my favourite part." 

 

"Okay." Jack sighed, slipping Ianto's jacket back into place. "I suppose one night wouldn't hurt and you really should get Gwen home to Rhys."

 

"I just need some home comforts," Ianto explained. 

 

“I understand that.” Jack sighed. “It’s been a long time since you were home.”

 

“I need a long hot bath and my king size bed." 

 

"You've got a king-sized bed?" Jack asked, interested. 

 

"Yep." Ianto pulled him down by his shirt, whispering against his lips. "It's huge and soft and has plenty of room for two." 

 

"Remind me to visit sometime."

 

"You're welcome any time you like." He kissed him slowly, savouring the moment. "I should get her home before she falls asleep again, or I lose the motivation to get off your desk and go home." 

 

"Goodnight, Ianto."

 

Ianto got down from Jack's desk and turned to leave, then changed his mind came back, kissing Jack deeply. He pushed him against the desk, mirroring the position from a few moments earlier.

 

"I thought you were leaving." Jack smiled. 

 

"I just wanted to let you know, that if I didn't have Gwen to take care of I would be taking you home with me tonight." 

 

"Oh yeah?"

 

"yes. I would've let you do anything you wanted." 

 

Jack kissed him softly, his fingers resting on Ianto's neck. “Why did you have to tell me that?”

 

“I don't want it to look like I'm trying to avoid you." 

 

"I See." Jack pulled him close, spreading his hands out over the Welshman's arse. “And you're absolutely positive that she has to go home right now?”

 

"She should," Ianto explained. "Its late and I know she misses him. She should wake up beside him tomorrow and if we started anything she would only interrupt us and we would both be unsatisfied."

 

"I wish you weren't right." 

 

“Ianto!!” Gwen's voice sung out from the doorway. "I'm waiting for you."

 

"Told you."

Jack chuckled a little as Ianto stood up, straightened himself back into his professional image and walked out.


	22. Chapter 22

Ianto helped Gwen up the front path, holding her tightly around her waist and rummaged around in her pocket for the front door keys until he found them. 

 

"Watch it soldier!" Gwen giggled. "Buy me a drink first, won’t you?" 

 

"Home sweet home." Ianto ignored her. "Time for some sleep."

 

“Why?”

 

“Because when you sleep I can go home,” he said. “I have things to do.”

 

“Things?” Gwen giggled, giving him an over exaggerated wink. “I bet you do.”

 

“You have no idea what I gave up to get you here, so how about we go up and see Rhys?”

 

"Lovely!" Gwen smiled. “I love Rhys.”

 

"You're going to have to be quiet because we don't want to wake him now, do we?" 

 

"No!" Gwen shook her head until she felt dizzy. 

 

“Come on then, we’ll go get you all tucked in and snug, yeah?” Ianto asked, realising for a moment that the tone he was using to reason with a stoned Gwen Cooper was far too similar to the one he used on his young niece. “So, shut up!”

 

"I'll be quiet as a mouse,” she promised.

 

“That’s right, quiet.”

 

“ **No!** " She put her finger up to stop herself, looking at Ianto with large eyes when he jumped a little. "No,” she whispered. “I'll be Quieter than a mouse."

 

"Good." Ianto pushed the door open quietly and looked at the stairs in front of him, then groaned. "You just _have_ to live on the first floor, don't you?" 

 

"It's safer," she whispered. "Some aliens can't climb stairs." 

 

"I'm going to have to drag you up these bloody things, aren't I?"

 

He didn't wait for an answer, instead he picked her up and put her over his shoulder, then started to climb the stairs. “With all the things I do for you people, you should really appreciate me more. I bring you coffee, I dump dead bodies, I clean up after you, I clean out Myfanwy. Now, I have to haul your bloody arse everywhere and what do you do for me? Nothing.”

 

“I love you.” Gwen hung her arms over his shoulders and grabbed onto his arse. “You’re pretty to look at.”

 

“Get off, that does not belong to you."

 

Seventeen stairs didn't look like much, but the weight of Gwen over his shoulder made it feel like Everest. When he got to the top he found the living room and put her down, lifting her legs to sit beside her for a moment. After sinking back into her comfortable couch for a moment to catch his breath, he pulled her legs into his lap and took off her boots, putting them on the floor beside the couch. 

 

"You'll be fine here," he whispered. "Have a nice long sleep and I'll see you on Monday."

 

"No, I have to go to bed." Gwen got up, using Ianto's shoulder to steady herself and started to make her way towards the bedroom. She stumbled a little, tripping face first into the kitchen unit. "Sorry!" She apologised to it.

 

"You need to lie down before you fall down," Ianto commented.

 

" I'm not going to--" 

 

Gwen tripped over her feet halfway through her sentence. "Shit!" 

 

"Come on then." Ianto sighed and peeled her up, then led her towards the bedroom, pushing her forwards by her waist as though she was the front a very short conga line. He shushed her as they got to the door, helping her over to the bed and sat her on the edge, manoeuvring her feet into position. 

 

"Who the fuck are you?" Rhys darted up in bed, switching the lamp on to look at Ianto as he tried to sneak out he door. 

 

"I'm a colleague of Gwen's," he explained with a tight smile. "A few of us went out for drinks after the team building thing and she got a little worse for wear."

 

"Worse for wear?" Rhys said, looking at her. "She's off her face, mate!" 

 

"She said she could handle the tequila," Ianto said, looking at her. "Turns out she could not."

 

"Bloody hell Gwen," Rhys groaned. "Not the tequila!"

 

"Ianto is so good, he brought me home and carried me up the stairs like fucking Cinderella!" She said as she pulled herself upright. "Isn't he scrumptious?"

 

"I hope you weren't thinking of trying it on with her when she's in this state."

 

"I think you're in more danger than me, love" Gwen chuckled. "Ianto's developed a sudden love for cock these days."

 

"Well then." Ianto felt himself glow an unflattering shade of red. "With that, I'll leave her in your capable hands."

"Thanks for bringing her home."

"She's not at work until Monday," Ianto told him. "Enjoy your weekend."

Ianto left the room and shut the door behind him, then leaned up against it and sighed heavily. Leaving Gwen’s keys on her countertop, Ianto left swiftly and slipped into the driver’s seat of his car. He text Jack quickly, letting him know Gwen was home safely and that he was going home before driving off.

* * *

Jack stared at Ianto's front door nervously before knocking; he hadn't been there since just after their camping hell in the Countryside. He had been so broken then, shaking and pale with an emptiness in his eyes that never really went away. That night Jack had put him to bed, then stayed the night with him at his request, wrapping him up in his arms to let him sleep. It was that night that started everything between them; they had never really spoken about it, but their relationship had never been the same since. 

 

Now he was standing at the same door, so unsure at what Ianto wanted. Things seemed so right before they left Crickhowell, but now it was five in the morning and Ianto had summoned him over. He couldn’t help thinking that Ianto was having second thoughts about everything; phone calls at five in the morning rarely held good news, especially when they were inviting you over to talk.

 

The door swung open and Ianto stood there in his dressing gown, leaning against the frame. "You took your time," he said. 'I was a starting to think you weren't coming." 

 

"You said you wanted to talk to me, so here I am. Let’s talk." 

 

"I didn't say that." Ianto smiled a little, pulling Jack in by the lapels of his coat. "I said I needed to see you, I said nothing about talking."

 

“You didn’t?”

 

“Nope.” He nudged the front door shut with his foot, then slipped his hand over Jack’s chest, leisurely unfastening the buttons on his shirt one by one. “The last thing I want to do after the day I've had is talk.”

 

"Oh." Jack smiled, happy to be wrong for once. “And here I was thinking you called me over to cool things off.”

 

“Why would I want to do that?” 

 

“Well, we have had a particularly intense time recently,” Jack explained, looking down at the younger man’s fingers as they pulled his shirt out of his trousers to unfasten it completely. “You were a little hot and cold and I was a little confused, actually a _lot_ confused.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Ianto breathed, pushing Jack’s coat off his shoulders until it crumpled onto the floor, then peeled the braces away from his shoulders and let them fall to the side. “It was a hard time for me.”

 

“I know.” Jack kissed him softly. “It’s okay.”

 

“I just felt so out of control and I don’t like feeling that way.” 

 

“That’s--” Jack brain stopped functioning a little when he found himself being pushed back against the wall, Ianto’s hand smoothing down the skin on his chest until it reached his belt.

 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ianto said. “So why don’t you find other things to do with your mouth instead.”

 

A small smile crept onto Jack’s lips as he looked at the Welshman’s robe and slipped his hand underneath, running his fingers over the bare skin underneath. “You’re naked under here, aren’t you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And you’re very happy to see me.” Jack pulled the Welshman close, his lips close enough to taste. “I was starting to think I’d never get you alone again.”

 

Ianto kissed him softly. “Take off your boots,” he requested. “I’ll hang up your coat before it creases.”

 

Jack did as he was told and took off his boots, watching the Welshman as he hung his coat carefully, running his fingers down the sleeves to straighten the fabric. He folded the collar over, smoothing out the lapels. 

 

“You have a thing for that coat,” Jack accused lightly, slipping his hands around Ianto’s waist and underneath his robe; he kissed his neck and felt him melt back against him. “You should wear it sometime.”

 

“I’m not a Captain, it wouldn’t be right.” Ianto turned around in his arms, letting Jack pin him lightly against the wall against his coat. “I wouldn’t look anywhere near as good in it.”

 

“Then maybe I should wear it.” Jack pressed a kiss underneath his ear. “Just the coat, nothing else.”

 

“We will definitely do that later.” 

 

Ianto kissed him deeply, pushing him away from the small hallway and across his flat, their lips staying connected as he ran his hands across Jack’s chest and over his shoulders. His fingers slipped around the back of the older man’s neck and pulled their mouths closer together. The heated kisses intensified and Jack pulled at the cord of the younger man’s robe to unfasten it, then slipped it off, pulling him towards him by his hips. Wrapping his hand around Ianto’s cock, Jack felt him moan into his mouth as he manoeuvred him towards the bed, his fingers digging into his shoulders. Ianto's hands made quick work of Jack’s belt, pulling it away from the buckle with a fluidity and efficiency that only he could possess and pulled his trousers over his hips, bringing the underwear with them. 

 

Jack found himself being pushed down onto the bed and wrapped an arm around Ianto’s neck to pull him with him, edging a little further up until they were lying in the middle. He pulled the Welshman close, enjoying the feeling of skin on skin as he ran his fingers down to Ianto’s arse and pushed their hips together a little. He could feel Ianto’s heart beating against his chest and he moved his hips a little to rub against him; there was no dignity in the moment, both men shamelessly begging for it, but after what they had been through Jack was sure that nobody would blame them. 

 

“Y’know--” Jack took an opportunity to speak when Ianto’s lips found his neck. "I would've been here so much quicker if I knew this is what you wanted me for, but you said you wanted to sleep in your own bed tonight."

 

"I said nothing about sleeping." Ianto said. "I said I wanted to be in my own bed, I never said I didn't want you in it with me."

 

"I just presumed--"

 

"You should never just presume, but you _should_ take a hint." He kissed a journey from his ear to his jaw, stopping a moment to kiss his lips again. "Three hours I waited for you to show up before I called."

 

"Well--" Jack pushed him off and forced him over to the empty side of the bed, pressing his arms into the mattress firmly. "You should be clearer next time." 

 

“I was clear,” Ianto argued lightly. “Short of telling you to come over to shag me senseless, I don’t know what else I could’ve said.”

 

“You should’ve definitely said _that_ ” Jack pushed him down by his neck and kissed him softly. If you had, I would’ve been here waiting for you when you got back.”

 

“Really?” Ianto pulled down a little.

 

“Yeah. I could’ve been lying here wearing nothing but my coat and you ruined it by hinting.” Jack slipped his hands between Ianto's legs, wrapping his hand around him and stroked him slowly, smiling against the others man's neck as he felt a breath catch in his throat the moment he touched him. Catching his lips in a kiss, Jack took his time, savouring every moment and breath. The beating of their hearts seemed to find one rhythm, racing together as they touched.

 

"I didn't ask you here just to get me off." 

 

"Don't worry,” Jack whispered. “You're going to return the favour."

 

Ianto closed his eyes when he felt Jack’s lips on his neck. “I don't want to hold back this time.”

 

“And I don’t want to rush it.” 

 

“You can take it slow next time.”

* * *

Jack rolled back in bed and pulled Ianto with him, still a little breathless. “Well, your neighbours definitely know you're home.” He laughed.

 

“Yep. We were _not_ quiet.” 

 

“Not even a little bit.”

 

“I blame you.” Ianto pressed a kiss against his chest and pulled the bed sheet over them. 

 

“You told me you didn’t want me to take it slow.”

 

“The woman next door is eighty-six,” Ianto cringed a little. “Maybe she didn’t hear.”

 

“Oh, she heard. Her mild mannered, quiet, suited and booted neighbour just got a change of reputation.” 

 

“Maybe she thinks I'm just very religious.” 

 

“Oh yeah., I’m sure we thinks we just had an enthusiastic bible study group, that's all.”

 

“I never see her anyway.” Ianto rolled over and pressed him Jack into the mattress, kissing his neck. “I don’t think our bible study is over yet.”

 

“It’s not?” Jack smiled a little.

 

“Nope.” Ianto ran his fingers through Jack’s hair, then kissed him softly. “We’re going to do it again.”

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah.” Ianto kissed him again, taking a moment to savour it. 

 

“And then what?” Jack asked seriously. “What happens when reality hits and you realise we can’t go back to how things were?”

 

“This is a whole new life, Jack.” He pressed a kiss against the older man’s lips. “I don’t want to go back anymore.”

 

“I’m not Charlie.”

 

“And I don’t want you to be.”

 

“I can’t promise to love like he did,” Jack said. “But it doesn’t mean I won’t try.”

 

“I don’t want you to fake feelings because you think that’s what I want.” 

 

“I won't." Jack pulled him down, his lips a whisper away. “With you I don’t need to fake anything.”

* * *

~END~

**Author's Note:**

> comments greatly appreciated :)


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